Cody's Pokemon Adventure
by randompandattack
Summary: Cody Anderson just turned 16, and is now old enough to be a Pokemon trainer. After picking a starter Pokemon from Professor Oak he'll travel Kanto taking on gyms and capturing rare Pokemon in the hope of one day becoming a Pokemon master! Come follow his journey from novice to master!
1. Pallet Town

**A/N: Hey everyone, this is my new story. I've been meaning to write a story like this for a while and decided now was a good time. This story takes place in Kanto and as such only uses the original 151 Pokemon (though some exceptions may be made). Characters from all 3 Total Drama generations will appear. In fact I hope to eventually have just about all of them show up. Most of the storyline is based off the games with some of the anime mixed in. This story follows Cody after his 16th birthday on his journey to become a Pokemon master. I hope you enjoy. **

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 1**

An older man in his mid sixties appears in a white room. He wears a white lab coat and is carrying a book in one hand. A stern but not unkind look adorns his face. "Hello there!" He greets you. "Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak! People call me the Pokémon professor!"

Suddenly you see a small Pokémon appear next to him. It's the yellow mouse Pokémon Pikachu. "This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon!" The professor explains. "For some people, Pokémon are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself…I study Pokémon as a profession." He suddenly shuts the book then looks at you. "First, what is your name?"

"…"

"Right! So your name is Cody!"

"Do you recall my grandson? He's been both your friend and rival since you two were mere toddlers. Do you remember his name?"

"…"

"Of course, it's Noah! How could I have forgotten?"

"You also have another friend, but this one's a girl. You've known her since you were a kid. So what was her name?"

"…"

"That's right! Her name was Bridgette." Oak nodded.

"Cody! Your very own Pokémon legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits! Let's go!"

* * *

Cody Anderson wakes up very suddenly. As he opens his eyes he recalls a powerful dream was what awoke him but it slips away before he can remember anything about it. Pushing back his covers he sits up and rubs his eyes. After getting most of the sleep out of them Cody gets to his feet.

A small mirror hangs on the nearby wall and it draws his attention. Cody takes a look at himself. He is short for his age and rather skinny with straight brown hair and teal eyes. When he smiles a small gap in his teeth can be seen. Since he just got up he's in his blue pajamas which hang loosely off his fair skin.

Letting out a small yawn he looks around the rest of his room. It's rather small and unadorned. His bed is pushed up against one of the walls and on the opposite side his computer sits on a desk with a chair pushed in. There's a dresser and a closet but not much else besides a single poster with a picture of the three starter Pokémon on it.

Cody's eyes wander over to the clock hanging on the wall. The last of his sleepiness is pushed out of him once he realizes it's almost eight a.m. "Oh no!" He says out loud. "If I don't move it I'm going to be late!"

He rushes to the door and whips it open. Entering the hallway he closes the door behind him and enters the bathroom parallel to his room. Once inside he quickly strips before entering the shower. "Oh! Hot! Hot!" He jumps up in surprise at how hot the water is. After turning it down he proceeds to quickly clean himself up as fast as he can.

Once his shower was finished he got out and proceeded to dry himself off. Leaving the bathroom he goes back into his room and pulls out some clothes to wear. After getting dressed he admires himself in the mirror. He is now wearing a long sleeve beige shirt with the collar up underneath a dull yellow t-shirt with two lines across the middle. The top line is red while the bottom is green. A pair of blue jeans cover his legs and grayish-green sneakers adorn his feet.

He nods to his reflection. "Looking good Cody my man."

After brushing his teeth Cody headed downstairs. His mother was sitting at a table waiting for him. Their house wasn't very big but since Cody and his mom were the only ones living there they had more than enough space. Cody's mother was a woman in her forties with medium length brown hair.

She turned to look at him as he walked down the stairs. "Good morning Cody!" She stood up and walked over to him. As he stepped off the bottom stair his mother enveloped him in a hug. "Happy birthday dear!"

"Thanks mom." Cody briefly hugged her back before they both let go. Cody's mother took a moment just to look at her son. "Oh I can't believe this day has finally come! You're finally sixteen; old enough to go out on your own. I knew this day would come; the TV said so." She told him.

"Well don't get all mushy on me mom." Cody blushed slightly from the attention. "I'm late as it is. I just want to eat some breakfast before I leave."

Suddenly remembering breakfast Cody's mom pushed him over to the dinner table where she had been previously sitting. "Well don't worry about that; I made you your favorite breakfast! So dig in!"

"Wow thanks mom!" Cody said gazing down at the table filled with food. He couldn't believe the trouble she had went through! In front of him was a large plate of his favorite chocolate-chip pancakes and a cup of hot chocolate. Surrounding that were bacon, sausage, fruit, and donuts. He quickly began to eat.

There was so much food he became full rather quick. Part of him wanted to keep eating but he knew being sluggish on his first day as a Pokémon trainer was a bad idea so he stopped eating. After gulping down a glass of water he turned back to his mom to thank her. "Thanks mom, that was really great."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you enjoyed it Cody. I'm just happy I could do one last thing for you before you leave."

Cody nodded. "Well, I need to get to professor Oak's lab but I'll be back before I leave!" He walked over to the front door and pulled it open.

"Good luck," his mother wished him. He gave her a quick wave before leaving the house.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was already up but it wasn't too hot yet. Checking his watch Cody sees its only a few minutes till nine o'clock. "Oh great, I better move it if I don't want to be late." Deciding to pick up the pace he began to jog.

Pallet Town was a fairly small village where everyone knew everyone. There wasn't a whole lot to do there, but it was a nice peaceful place away from the rest of the world. Often it was where new Pokémon trainers would begin their journeys. Every year Professor Oak would give out a Pokémon to new trainers who showed up on time. The older man was always happy to help out, granted the would-be trainer made it before all the Pokémon were taken.

And that is why Cody was more than a little anxious as he jogged through town. He passed his friend Bridgette's house right away and could see Noah's house as he headed for the lab. Cody had always found the small size of his town rather stifling, but today he was glad it was so small. It had only been a few minutes yet professor Oak's laboratory was already in view.

He kept up his pace until he reached the lab. Pushing open the double doors into the air-conditioned room he stopped jogging and caught his breath. "Cody!" Someone called his name. Cody looked around to see Noah and Bridgette were already here. They were further into the lab but walked back once they saw him come inside.

"Hey Cody!" Bridgette stood in front of him and smiled. She had blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a light blue sweater, blue swimming trunks and sandals. "I'm glad you could make it." She'd been a childhood friend of Cody's ever since the two were five years old.

"Hey Bridgette, hey Noah." Cody smiled. He was glad to see his friends; the sight of them reassured him.

"Cutting it a little close aren't we?" Noah smirked. Noah was the same height as Cody, but with darker skin. He wore a red sweater vest over a blue t-shirt and white long-sleeve shirt, faded green shorts and matching tennis shoes. "It's only one minute to nine." He'd been a childhood friend of Cody's even longer than Bridgette. Apparently the two had met when they were only two and had grown up together. They were friends, but also rivals.

"Give him a break Noah," Bridgette said. "His house is the farthest from the lab after all."

Noah raised an eyebrow as he turned to the blonde. "You're kidding right? That means he had to walk a whole another five feet to get here." He rolled his eyes. "What a champ." He then turned back to Cody. "Speaking of which, you look a little tired for a guy who ran two blocks. How are you going to manage to travel all of Kanto if you get winded so easily?"

"Don't worry Noah, I'm not tired." Cody assured his friend. "And you should talk, everyone knows you're even worse than me at exercise."

Bridgette giggled. "Okay guys, don't fight. This is supposed to be a very important day. When we finally get a Pokémon!"

"Well said Bridgette." Someone behind them spoke. The three turned around to see Professor Oak standing there in his lab coat holding a steaming cup of coffee.

Bridgette's eyes lit up at the sight of the older man. "Professor Oak!"

"I'm glad to see all three of you made it." He said.

Cody nodded his head. "Good morning sir."

Professor Oak pulled out a small piece of paper from the pocket of his lab coat. "Let's do this official shall we?" He began to read off of the paper. "Welcome new trainers. My name is Professor Oak; I'm also known as the Pokémon Professor. It is my job to-

"Forget the speech grandpa." Noah interrupted. "We all know who you are. Bridgette and Cody have lived here their entire lives and unless you've forgotten, I'm your grandson. Let's just cut to the chase shall we?"

"Noah don't be rude!" Bridgette glared at the boy before turning back to Oak. "I'm sorry professor, but I think Noah may have a point."

"Yeah," Cody said. "We've always lived in Pallet town. I know new Pokémon trainers from outside Pallet show up sometimes to get a Pokémon from you, but today it's just us."

Professor Oak looked thoughtful. "You have a point Cody. You three are the only ones who requested a Pokémon from me this year. Oh well, I guess it doesn't have to be completely official." He took a sip of coffee. "The point is, you three are all sixteen now. That means you're old enough to get your own Pokémon and go explore the world! Learn new things, explore hidden places and even compete in the Pokémon league one day if you so desire."

"Of course you can do none of this without a Pokémon. So, if you would, follow me into the lab." The professor turned around and walked further into his lab. The three teens followed quickly behind him. They passed various aides in lab coats and machines they knew little about. Soon they reached the back of the lab. In one corner of the room was the professor's desk. On the other side of the room was a table with three pokeballs resting on top.

"Is that them?" Bridgette hurried over to the table. "Are these our Pokémon?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Way cool," Cody said as he gazed down at the pokeballs beside Bridgette.

"Yeah, they've been there since last night." Noah said leaning against the wall. "I wanted to get mine first but gramps said I had to wait like everyone else." He rolled his eyes.

"Come on Noah," the professor walked over to the other side of the table. "It wouldn't be fair if I let you get your Pokémon before everyone else." Noah huffed but said nothing. "Now who's going first?"

"I'd like to." Cody raised his hand excitedly.

"I'm fine with waiting," Bridgette said. "Someone else can go first."

"Well that makes it easy." Professor Oak said as he pulled a coin out of his pocket. "We'll flip for it. What side do you want Noah?"

"Tails."

"Alright," the professor nodded. "Noah picks first if it's tails. Cody goes first if it's heads." The two boys nodded their heads in agreement. "Here we go!" Oak flipped the coin into the air and caught it as it fell into his hand. Both boys moved closer to see. Oak opened his hand up to reveal the coin was heads up.

"Yes!" Cody cheered. Noah groaned and muttered under his breath.

"Now don't be a sore loser Noah. Cody won fair and square." Oak used his right hand to motion the pokeballs in front of him. "Alright Cody, you go first. Now this Pokémon…" He pointed to the one on the far left. "This is the grass Pokémon Bulbasaur. This one," he points to the middle pokeball, "this is the water Pokémon Squirtle. And the last one is the fire Pokémon Charmander." He points to the one on the far right. "Now I know you three are familiar with all three after having watched my late night program. So Cody, what'll it be?"

Suddenly Cody finds his excitement has been replaced with a stressful anxiety. He realizes how big this decision is for him and how important it is to make the right choice. Behind him Bridgette bites her lip. His right hand hovers over the pokeballs moving from one to the other.

It's when his hand hovers over the pokeball holding a Squirtle that Bridgette calls out. "Wait!" Cody turns his head toward her. "I'm sorry, I know you get first pick but please don't pick Squirtle! That's the one I really want!"

Cody looks at Bridgette for a moment and then smiles. "Don't worry Bridge, I won't pick Squirtle. I've already decided." His hand reaches down and grasps a pokeball. He holds it up for them to see. "The Pokémon I've picked is…Bulbasaur."

Professor Oak nods. "Yes, nice choice Cody."

Bridgette looks relieved. "Thank you Cody." She moves to the table and gives him a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing the pokeball containing Squirtle. "At last! My very own Squirtle!" She holds the pokeball close to her face.

Noah steps forward. "Well I guess I'm stuck with Charmander." He picks up the last pokeball. Staring at the ball a small smile appears on his face. Cody noticed.

"Noah, was Charmander the Pokémon you wanted the whole time?" Cody teased him.

"Maybe…" Noah shrugged.

Professor Oak watched the three with a happy grin. Giving new Pokémon trainers their first Pokémon has always been one of the best parts of his job. Seeing the look on their faces always made him recall his own youth and the adventures he went on. But he was also a profession and as such would never let himself get caught in a memory for too long.

"Well why are you three just standing around holding those pokeballs?" He asked. "You should let them out! They're not truly your Pokémon until you've met them and they know who you are."

"Good idea!" Cody said. "Come on out Bulbasaur!" he tossed the pokeball in the air and it opened with a bright white light. A second later a Bulbasaur was sitting on the laboratory floor. "Wow cool!"

"Bulba!" It said as it smiled up at Cody. He leaned down to get a better look. The Bulbasaur was a little on the small side but Cody thought it was perfect.

"Hey Bulbasaur, it's nice to meet you." Cody petted the top of the Pokémon. "My name's Cody and you're my first Pokémon. I hope we can get along. What do you say? You want to by friends?"

"Bulba, bulba!" Cody's Bulbasaur hops up and down excitedly.

"That's great!" Cody smiles.

Meanwhile Noah and Bridgette had also let out their Pokémon. Bridgette picked up her smiling Squirtle and looked it up. "Aww you're so cute!" She gushed. Her Squirtle then decided to squirt some water in her face. "Hey!" The blonde sputtered as she spit out water. Her hair and face were completely soaked. "That wasn't nice!" Squirtle snickered.

A few feet away Noah was standing around with his arms crossed while his Charmander ran in a circle around him repeatedly. "This little guy has way too much energy." He sighed. "I'm tired just watching him."

"There's something else I need to give you three." Professor Oak walked over to his desk and pulled open the first drawer. He then pulled out three devices that the teens couldn't get a good look at from where they were standing.

"What is it?" Cody asked out of curiosity.

"It's called a Pokedex," Oak answered. He handed Cody, Noah and Bridgette one each. Cody looked at the strange new device in his hands. It was a red, rectangular device made out of metal. When he pushed on the side of it the device opened up revealing a small screen on one side and various buttons on the other.

"This is really neat professor, but what does it do?" Bridgette asked.

"The Pokedex is my life's work." The professor explained. "It's a Pokémon encyclopedia that collects data on Pokémon when you capture them. It can tell you all kinds of information ranging from a Pokémon's moves to where to find them in the wild and even more. It'll be an invaluable resource on your journey."

"Wow gramps," Noah sounded impressed. "That actually sounds pretty useful."

"I'm glad you like it my boy." Oak smiled. "Now listen, there's something I want you to do for me. I've given you three these Pokedex's because I want you to go out in the world and gather as much data about Pokémon as you can. I'm not as young as I used to be so I can't do it. That's why I want you younger people to carry on my will. Do you think you could do that for me?"

"Of course Professor Oak!" Cody answered.

"I'd be honored to help," Bridgette said.

"Eh, I guess I could try." Noah shrugged.

"Thank you," Oak wipes a tear out of his eye. "There's just one last thing to give you. Here, you'll need some empty pokeballs." He then handed the three of them five pokeballs each. They thanked him. "You are all wonderful young people and I know you'll do great things. I wish you the best of luck on your journey."

The three teens headed for the door of the lab to leave. "Goodbye Professor Oak, and thanks for everything!" Bridgette waved.

"I'll do my best on the Pokedex," Cody said. "And the next time you see me I'll be a great trainer!"

"See you later grandpa," Noah gave the older man a slight wave before leaving. The three of them walk out of the lab and stood in the sunshine with their Pokémon.

"Now we should head back home," Bridgette said. "So we can get our supplies."

"Not just yet." Noah stopped her. "I think first we should have a battle to see who's Pokémon is stronger. What do you think Cody?"

Cody nodded. "Sure. My first Pokémon battle, I've waited years for this!"

"Well, wait no more." Noah smirked. "Go Charmander!"

"Char!" Noah's Charmander stood in front of its trainer ready.

"You ready Bulbasaur?" Cody asked his Pokémon.

"Bulba!"

"Oh you boys," Bridgette rolled her eyes. "I guess I'll referee."

"Thanks Bridgette." Cody told her.

"No problem. Ready? Go!"

Cody pulled out his Pokedex and opened it up. It showed a picture of a Bulbasaur. "Now what moves do you have?" He checked the list of moves but was slightly disappointed to learn it only knew two moves. "Tackle and growl? Is that it?"

"The new ones Grandpa finds only ever have two attacks." Noah explained. "Now let's start. Charmander use scratch!"

"Charmander!" Noah's Pokémon ran at Cody's and scratched it with its claws.

Bulbasaur grunted in pain. "Ah crud. Bulbasaur use tackle!"

Bulbasaur leaped forward and rammed Charmander. The fire Pokémon was knocked back a few feet but quickly recovered. "Charmander use growl!"

"Bulbasaur use growl!" Both Pokémon used growl at the same time meaning very little actually changed.

"Use scratch again Charmander!"

"Use tackle again Bulbasaur!"

Both Pokémon took turns attacking doing a small amount of damage each time while Bridgette looked on amused. "This is not very exciting. But I guess at this level it would be silly to expect much more."

The battle was still going and Noah was confident he could win. Both Pokémon were trading blows evenly but since Charmander had attacked first Bulbasaur had less health and would be the one knocked out. All he had to do was keep attacking. "Keep it up Charmander!"

What Noah didn't know was that Cody had already realized this. "Bulbasaur listen," he waited as his Pokémon turned to face him. "I want you to tackle him again, but this time give it everything you got. It's now or never!" Bulbasaur nodded it's understanding.

Noah heard this but didn't believe it mattered. He didn't think Bulbasaur would be able to do any more damage than usual. He was mistaken. "Bulbasaur!" The grass Pokémon leapt at the fire Pokémon with everything it had and knocked it down hard onto the grass on its back.

"A critical hit?" Noah's eyes opened wide. "Charmander get up!" But Charmander didn't move. It's eyes were swirls and Noah knew what that meant. His Pokémon had fainted.

"Ding ding!" Bridgette announced. "It's over! Bulbasaur wins!"

"Oh yeah!" Cody cheers. "We won! Good job Bulbasaur." He leans down to be at his Pokémon's level and rubbed it affectionately.

"Ughh I can't believe I lost…" Noah recalled Charmander to its pokeball. He looked down at the sphere. "It's not your fault. You did good."

"Good job boys," Bridgette congratulated them both. "You both did fine."

"Don't feel too bad Noah," Cody said. "It was really close."

"You just got lucky," Noah told him. "Next time I'll win for sure."

Cody wasn't so sure about that but he didn't want to risk antagonizing Noah any further. Instead he turned to his female friend. "So Bridgette do you want to battle now?"

"No thanks," she shook her head. "I think I'd like to practice with my Pokémon first in the wild. Plus, I'd really like to get started on our journey. Wouldn't you?"

"Good idea." Noah said. "Let's go get our stuff and then meet back in front of the town in ten minutes. Sound good?" The other two agreed with him. "I have to go get grandpa to heal Charmander and then I'll meet you."

"See you soon!" Cody said before returning Bulbasaur to its pokeball. Bridgette did the same. Then Cody turned and ran back home. It didn't take him long and the adrenaline made it quicker.

"Mom I'm back!" He said opening the front door. "And I got my first Pokémon!"

Cody's mother had been watching TV when he came in and quickly stood up and walked over. "Oh good, let me see!"

Cody released Bulbasaur from its pokeball. "This is Bulbasaur. You can say hi, but I'm going to go get my stuff." He then left his Pokémon and mother in the living room and ran upstairs to his room.

Inside his room he found his backpack already prepared. He had a sleeping bag, plenty of clothes, a first aid kit, some food and a few other necessities. After putting it on he realized how heavy it was but knew there was nothing he could leave behind. For weeks he had gone through his stuff deciding what he needed and what he could leave behind.

Taking a look around his room he took a deep breath. He was ready. "I can do this." he told himself. "I'm going to be a Pokémon trainer and one day a Pokémon master! Look out Pokémon of the world, because I'm going to catch you!"

"Cody!" His mom called up.

"Coming mom!" Satisfied he had everything he needed Cody left his room and shut the door behind him. He came downstairs where his mother was waiting for him with Bulbasaur back in its pokeball.

"Thank you for showing me your Bulbasaur." She handed him back the pokeball. "I'm sure it'll protect you on your journey. I healed it for you so it's in tip-top shape."

"Thanks mom."

Cody's mom was suddenly teary-eyed. "Oh I'm going to miss you so much!" She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Promise you'll call me from the Pokémon center when you can alright?"

"I will," Cody told her. "And I'll miss you too mom."

"Just one more thing," she pulled out a shoebox and handed it to him. "I got you these running shoes. They're new and should be your size."

"Wow thanks." Cody quickly took off his old shoes and slid into the running shoes. "Hey they fit great!"

"I'm glad," she smiled. "They should help a lot." Then both Cody and his mom walked out of the house. "I love you Cody! Goodbye!"

"I love you too mom." he told her. "Don't worry too much; I'll take care of myself. Goodbye!"

And with their goodbyes complete Cody walked away from his house. He had always been excited to leave but didn't realize how much he would miss his mom until he was almost gone. He came across Bridgette leaving her house and with a nod the two kept walking until they reached the edge of town.

That was where Noah was waiting for them. "Took you two long enough."

"Ready to leave?" Bridgette asked.

"I am." Cody nodded.

Bridgette hesitated for a moment. "Listen I know we were going to split up and go our separate ways, but do you guys think we could travel together just for a little while?"

"That sounds okay to me." Cody agreed.

Noah sighed. "Okay, but just until we get to Viridian City. Then we go our separate ways. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the blonde nodded.

"Then let's go!" Cody shouted happily.

Then the three young trainers took their first steps into tall grass.

* * *

**A/N: I thought that was a good place to stop. As stated above, Noah and Bridgette will not be Cody's traveling companions. They'll still be recurring characters though so don't worry. I haven't decided who to eventually pair Cody with which is why I set up a poll on my profile so anyone can go and vote for which girl they want him paired up with. So feel free to vote, I'd appreciate it. Reviews are appreciated, let me know what you thought! **


	2. Viridian City

**A/N: It's been a week so here's chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who voted on my profile poll. The poll is still up, so if you haven't voted then please do. This isn't the most exciting chapter, but it gets better as it goes. Thanks for reading. **

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 2**

It was ten a.m. when Cody, Noah and Bridgette entered the tall grass. They had officially left Pallet town behind and were now in Route 1. The grass was up to their knees as they took their first steps from home out into the world. They all kept what little they could take with them in backpacks they would carry everywhere. All three were a little nervous but wore excited expressions on their faces.

"This sure is exciting, huh guys?" Bridgette said.

"I know I'm excited!" Cody smiled up at her. "How about you Noah? Are you excited?"

"I'm just overflowing with excitement," Noah deadpanned before rolling his eyes.

Hearing this Bridgette began to giggle. It was only when Cody spoke up that she stopped. "So are there any wild Pokémon out here?" he asked.

"Not many." Noah answered. "But from what my grandpa told me there are a few different kinds. Luckily none of them are that strong."

"So they'd be good for beginners like us huh?" Bridgette surmised.

"Yeah, but that also means they're all incredibly common. There's nothing rare around here."

But Cody didn't agree. "Pokémon don't need to be rare Noah. I've heard even common Pokémon can be great if they're well trained and their trainer cares for them."

"Maybe, but that's a lot more work." Noah pointed out. "Plus there's always going to be some Pokémon that just don't measure up no matter how they're trained."

Cody frowned. He couldn't help but think Noah was looking at this the wrong way but didn't want to argue. Luckily for him, Bridgette changed the subject. "Well I'm not worried about whether the Pokémon is rare or not; I just want to catch some! This should be a good place to practice with my Squirtle." Encouraged by her positive attitude, the three marched on.

Route 1 consisted of flat grassy plains. There were no hills and you could see things coming from a while off. There was a fair amount of tall grass but it wouldn't be too hard to avoid if someone wanted to. Every now and then the group would pass a tree or two but other than that it was pretty barren.

"Hey look!" Cody said a few minutes later. He pointed at the ground in front of them to their left. The other two looked and spotted a Pidgey pecking at the ground. They had of course seen flocks of Pidgey already flying overhead but this was the first one they've spotted on the ground. "A Pidgey!"

"A bird Pokémon huh?" Bridgette pulled out her Pokedex. The device registered the Pokémon and pulled up a picture of it. "Pidgey: the tiny bird Pokémon." The Pokedex spoke. "Pidgey are very common in forests and woods. If attacked, they will often kick up sand to defend themselves."

"Just like I thought." Noah said. "Route one is full of very common Pokémon."

"Go Squirtle!" Bridgette called out her starter Pokémon. It burst from its pokeball and looked around.

"What are you doing?" Cody asked.

"Bird Pokémon are very useful." Bridgette said. "So I'm going to capture this little guy. Plus it should be good practice for Squirtle." She then turned back to her Pokémon. "Squirtle attack! Use tackle!"

"Squirtle!" The water Pokémon lunged at the bird. Pidgey was caught unaware and took the full brunt of the attack. However it quickly got back up and into the air. It began to flap its wings furiously creating strong winds that hit Bridgette's Squirtle.

"It's using it's gust attack." Noah explained.

"Squirtle use tackle again!" Bridgette ordered. Her Pokémon attempted another tackle but couldn't reach the wild Pidgey. "It's too high up." She bit her lip. "Okay use tail whip instead!"

Squirtle turned around and waved its tail back and forth at the Pidgey. The wild Pokémon's defenses were lowered and it got closer to the ground before using another gust attack. Squirtle took some more damage but was still okay. "Now try tackling it again!" Bridgette said.

Her Squirtle nodded and this time when it leapt up it reached its target. It knocked Pidgey out of the sky and onto it's back. It was clearly knocked out. "Alright now, go pokeball!" Bridgette pulled out one of the five empty pokeballs Professor Oak had given her and tossed it straight at the Pidgey.

The wild Pokémon was instantly sucked straight inside the ball. It began to shake from side to side for a few seconds. The shaking became less and less frequent before finally stopping with a click. "Yes!" Bridgette jumped up excitedly. She ran over and picked up the pokeball holding her new Pidgey. "I caught my first Pokémon!"

"Great job Bridgette!" Cody congratulated her.

"Oh yes, quite the achievement." Noah said sarcastically.

"Coming from the guy with only one Pokémon." Bridgette stuck out her tongue.

Cody laughed. "She's got you there dude."

"Whatever," Noah rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to waste my time catching anything here. Let's move on shall we?"

The three teens continued on their way through route 1 at a leisurely pace. They occasionally came across another person wandering around. Some of these people were friendly while others just wanted to keep to themselves. But none of the people they came across were other Pokémon trainers. Noah said that while it was possible, it wasn't very likely anyone but new trainers would hang around route 1.

They spotted some more Pidgey's along the way along with a few Rattatas. There didn't seem to be any other Pokémon around though. Cody, Noah and Bridgette each got some practice in having Pokémon battles against these wild Pokémon. Their Pokémon gained some much needed experience.

It was almost one p.m. when they decided to stop for lunch. None of them brought a picnic blanket so instead they sat on the grass underneath a tree and pulled what food they had out of their backpacks. Cody was drinking large gulps from his water bottle when Bridgette offered to share some of her lunch.

"Anyone want a sandwich?" She asked. In her outstretched hand she held a sandwich with meat, vegetables and cheese on it. "My mom wanted to make me some so I didn't get hungry on the walk to Viridian and she went a little overboard."

"Sure," Cody took a sandwich and thanked her. Noah did the same. They were all happily enjoying their lunches when they found themselves interrupted by a Pokémon.

"Rattata! Rattata!" A small purple rat-like Pokémon had approached and was now snapping at them.

"Do you think it's hungry?" Bridgette asked.

Cody stood up. "I think it just wants to battle." He pulled out his pokeball and clicked the center returning it to normal size. "Go Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur popped out of the pokeball and began battling the Rattata. Bridgette and Noah however did not get up or stop eating. "Cody's wrong." Noah said in-between bites. "Every other Rattata we've come across has fled unless we began the battle. That one just wants some food is all."

Bridgette nods her head in agreement. "I think Cody just wants one for himself."

As she was saying this Bulbasaur tackled the Rattata for the second time and knocked it out. Cody pulled out an empty pokeball and tossed it at the wild Pokémon. "Go pokeball!" Similar to what happened when Bridgette caught her Pidgey, the pokeball shook for a few seconds before going still.

"Whoo!" Cody cheered as he held up the pokeball. "Hey guys, I caught that Rattata."

"We saw," Noah said as he continued eating his sandwich.

Cody shrugged. "Might as well feed the little guy." He held out the pokeball to call out his new Pokémon when Bridgette stopped him.

"Cody don't," the blonde told him. "Your Pokémon is unconscious remember? You need to get it to a Pokémon center first."

"Oh right," the brunette looked embarrassed. "Sorry I forgot."

"Don't worry about it." She told him. "There's one in Viridian City so you don't have to wait too long."

Noah stood up and picked up his stuff. "Well I'm done eating. Let's go."

"Oh wait!" Cody said worried. "I haven't finished eating yet!"

* * *

A few hours later the three teens had made it to the end of route 1 and were approaching Viridian City. Pallet Town and Viridian City were pretty close to each other but it still took them till late afternoon to walk all the way from one to the other. Both Noah and Cody were tired from walking most of the day while Bridgette was only slightly fatigued.

"Ughh I hate walking." Noah groaned as they entered the town. "Isn't there a bus I can ride instead?"

Bridgette smirked and wrapped her arm around the smaller boy's shoulder. "You better get used to it Noah. If you want to be a Pokémon trainer you're going to have to do a lot of walking."

Noah scoffed. "Says you. First chance I get I'm buying a bike."

"Wow you have enough money for a bike?" Cody asked. "I heard bikes were really expensive."

Bridgette shook her head. "He does not have enough money for a bike."

"Not yet I don't," Noah corrected her. "But after I defeat a few dozen trainers I'll have more than enough money." He paused as he realized they were in the middle of Viridian City. "We made it…finally."

"Huh," Cody looked around. "I almost imagined it would be bigger than this."

"It's still much bigger than Pallet." Bridgette said optimistically.

"I guess that's true."

"Alright guys, it's time to split up." Noah told his two friends. "But before we do I have something to give to the two of you." He reached into a pocket in the front of his backpack and pulled out two folded up maps. "These are maps that show the entire Kanto region." He handed one to Cody and the other to Bridgette.

"Hey thanks." Cody unfolded his to get a better look.

Noah shrugged. "Don't thank me, thank my sister. She's the one who gave me three of them and told me to give them to you guys."

"Well next time I see your sister I'll be sure to thank her." Cody winked.

"Cody I swear, if you hit on my sister one more time-

"Thank you Noah," Bridgette interrupted. "I really appreciate it." She moved toward him and pulled him into a hug. Noah was surprised by the sudden affection but eventually gave a small hug back. "I'm going to miss you, even if you are kind of a jerk."

"How touching," the boy said sarcastically as the blonde let go. But despite his tone she could tell Noah was actually smiling a little.

She then moved over to Cody and gave him a hug too. Cody was better prepared and hugged her back. "You too Cody," she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed. "You be careful okay?"

"I will Bridge, I promise."

"Good," she finished her hug but as she pulled away she couldn't resist the desire to give him a goodbye kiss on the cheek. Both cheeks were soon tinged red in a blush. She giggled slightly. "Let's all promise to meet up again soon, okay?"

Both Noah and Cody nodded. "I bet I'll have caught more Pokémon than you, Noah." Cody told his rival.

"Maybe you will," Noah shrugged. "But I'll have twice the amount of gym badges as you. And next time we have a Pokémon battle I'll win for sure."

"Don't plan on it." Cody then held out his hand and Noah shook it.

"Alright I'm heading straight to the Viridian gym." Noah said. "See you two later." He then turned and walked away. Both Bridgette and Cody watched him go for a minute before Bridgette turned around.

"I think I'll go to the Pokémon center first." she said. "I want to make sure my Pokémon are in tip-top shape before I go any further. I heard it's a while between here and the next center. Well, goodbye Cody and good luck."

"Bye Bridgette!" Cody waved as his friend walked away. Now he was alone. Cody wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do first. Going to the Pokémon center sounded like a good idea but he thought first he'd explore Viridian City.

Like he previously observed upon entering the city, Viridian was not very big. It was only known for two things: having a Pokémon gym and being the closest town to the Pokémon league. Apart from that there wasn't much going on. Cody passed numerous houses and a few shops but didn't see anything interesting until he stumbled across a few street vendors.

After buying a fried candy bar for a snack he kept walking. He turned a corner and saw the Poke-Mart standing alone. Though he had never been to one before it was instantly recognizable by its blue roof, pokeball sign on top, and the word Mart in big letters on the left side.

_I've always wanted to go to a Poke Mart_, Cody thought to himself as he walked inside. The inside of the story was well lit and cool, but rather small. Cody assumed this was simply because they didn't sell anything besides Pokémon trainer supplies. There was an average looking man in his late twenties behind the counter that greeted him. "Welcome!" He said. "Feel free to take a look around. If I can help in any way please don't hesitate to ask."

"Okay, thanks." Cody told the guy before walking down one of the aisles. He came across pokeballs, potions, antidotes and more. "What should I get?" Cody asked himself. He checked his wallet first. The teen had didn't have that many Pokedollars. He had enough to get by but knew until he managed to get some more he would have to be careful with his money.

"I should at least buy a potion," Cody said picking up a basic potion off the top shelf. As he did this he heard whispers from the next aisle over.

"…did you hear?"

"Yes, yes, such a shame."

"And talk about close! Why it was only a city away…"

Cody wasn't sure what the voices were talking about but he found his curiosity piqued. Turning the corner he poked his head out of the next aisle. Two older women were chatting quietly in the corner of the shop. They didn't spot Cody so he was able to listen in on their conversation.

"…can't believe what that Team Rocket gets away with."

"Oh I know! And just last year they were a group of nobodies."

"Criminals are like that. Nobody likes to think they're a danger until it's too late."

"I just feel terrible for all those trainers. Losing your Pokémon must be unbearable!"

The other woman nodded. Cody pulled his head back and walked away. He thought about what he just heard. People were stealing Pokémon? Could it be true? He'd never heard of any Team Rocket but that didn't mean much. Pallet wasn't exactly a news hub.

"How terrible." he said out loud.

"What's terrible?"

Cody looked up in surprise to see he was standing in front of the counter where the guy from before was looking at him strangely. "N-Nothing!" Cody said embarrassed. "I just want to buy this potion." He put the potion up on the counter.

"Sure," the guy shrugged and rung it up. Cody paid the man before leaving the Poke Mart. After putting the potion in an empty pocket in his backpack he looked around. It wasn't quite dark yet so Cody decided to finish exploring before heading over to the Pokémon center.

He started walking west for a few minutes thinking that's where the Pokémon gym might be. Unfortunately there wasn't anything out there and soon found himself outside of Viridian City. He stopped when he came across a sign informing him that he was approaching route 22. Cody was about to turn back when he heard the alarming sound of someone crying.

He ran toward the sound. The crying grew louder as he approached and Cody could tell it was definitely a girl's voice. It wasn't long before he came across a girl sitting on the ground covered in dirt sobbing. He could tell right away the girl must be around his age, but didn't get a better look at her before she spotted him coming towards her.

"W-What do you want?" She asked him gulping down tears.

Cody momentarily found himself at a loss for words. He had been worried someone was in trouble or had been hurt and hadn't been prepared to deal with a crying teenage girl. "I-I heard you crying." He managed to get out. "Are…you okay?"

"No!" She shook her head. "I'm not okay!" Cody could see behind her wet tears this girl had big blue eyes.

"I'm sorry." He told her before offering his hand. "Do you need help getting up?"

The girl nodded and took his outstretched hand. Once she got to her feet she began to wipe the tears from her eyes. Still feeling a bit awkward Cody said the only thing that he could think of: his name. "My name is Cody."

"I'm…Lindsay." The no-longer crying girl told him. Now that she was standing Cody could get a better look at her. Despite her red eyes, Lindsay had a very cute face, good figure, and fairly large breasts that Cody had difficulty looking away from. She wore a blue bandana through her long blonde hair along with a sleeveless brown top over a red top, a light orange mini skirt and brown cowboy boots. She was quite the sight to behold.

"What happened?" Cody eventually asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well Colby," Cody cringed as she remembered his name wrong, "I-I don't even know anymore!" She cried out.

"Wait don't cry!" Cody begged her before she burst into tears again. "Please don't cry! Do you think you could try to start from the beginning?"

Lindsay sniffled, "Okay. This all started because my daddy got mad at me. He wanted me to be a Pokémon trainer, but I didn't really want to. Then he said all I ever do is waste all of his money buying clothes which is not true! I buy a lot of other things like makeup, shoes, cute stickers…"

Cody coughed into his hand. "Umm Lindsay? You were talking about your dad?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," she remembered where she was. "Anyway he got mad and said I had to be a Pokémon trainer now! So he gave me my Pokémon and kicked me out of the house and said I couldn't come back until I became a Pokémon trainer and had a "better understanding of the world", whatever that means." She sniffled.

"Okay," Cody nodded. "But what are you doing out here?"

"Well I really didn't want to have to walk around Kanto becoming a Pokémon trainer so I thought I'd take a shortcut." She explained. "That nice lady at the Pokémon center told me if I followed route twenty-two I would eventually get to the Pokémon league. I thought if I just went there and beat everyone really quick he'd let me come home."

She huffed. "But those meanies wouldn't even let me in! They said I needed all seven gym badges to get in. I told them I didn't have any badges but asked them nicely to let me in anyway, but they still wouldn't! Then they got mad at me and kicked me out here. And that's why I'm crying and covered in dirt!"

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that." Cody told her. His brain was trying to process what he had just heard. Taking a deep breath he tried to put together what he knew about this girl. He knew she must be pretty dumb or at least incredibly naive if her story was true. She also sounded very spoiled and not at all used to hardship. On the other hand, Cody felt bad for her and didn't just want to leave her out here. That wasn't something he'd be able to live with.

Plus she was hot.

"Listen Lindsay, why don't you come with me?" The male teen offered. "I'm a new Pokémon trainer and I was going to spend the night at the Pokémon center. I'm sure if you came with me you could cleaned up, get some food and have a place to sleep for the night. What do you say?"

"But…I don't even know you Colby."

"First off my name is Cody." He corrected her politely. "And that's okay because I don't really know you either. But if you come with me I promise to answer any questions you have and then you'll get to know me. How does that sound?"

"Hmm…" Lindsay's head tilted to the side as she thought about the offer. "Okay!" She smiled. "You seem like a nice guy so I'm sure you're telling the truth."

"Umm…yeah." Cody again saw how naïve this girl was. _It's probably a good thing I found her_, Cody thought. _And not somebody else_. "Just follow me Lindsay, I know the way."

"It's not a long walk is it Colby? Because my feet are killing me."

"…"

* * *

It took less than half an hour to get back into town and find the Pokémon center but it certainly seemed longer. Cody was excited to get to go inside for the first time. The building was instantly recognizable thanks to its bright red roof. It was getting dark so Cody and Lindsay hurried inside where the lights were on.

"Oh thank God, we're here!" Lindsay sighed in relief.

Cody looked around. The place was larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. It was very clean and appeared well taken care of. In the lobby he could see numerous couches, chairs and tables. Some of them were even occupied by other Pokémon trainers. However Cody didn't spot either of his two friends.

He walked up to the front counter with Lindsay behind him. Nurse Joy was behind the counter looking at a computer screen while a nearby Chansey took care of things nearby. As the two approached Nurse Joy saw them and her eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh good you came back!" Cody realized she was talking to Lindsay.

Nurse Joy reached under the counter and pulled out a pink backpack. "You left this in the lobby when you were here earlier. I was worried you wouldn't come back for it."

"Oh hey my backpack!" Lindsay rushed forward and took it from the nurse. "I was looking for this. All my stuff is in here. Isn't that great Colby?"

Cody nodded. "That's great Lindsay."

"Is there something I can do for you?" Nurse Joy asked him.

"Yes, I'd like my Pokémon healed please."

"Of course," she smiles. Cody hands her his two pokeballs which she places in a machine. "It'll take a few minutes for your Pokémon to heal."

Cody nodded and walked away from the counter along with Lindsay who started rifling through her backpack. "Do you need your Pokémon healed?"

"No thanks," she pulled a pokeball out of her pocket and held it up for him to see. "My Pokémon didn't get hurt."

"Lindsay do you only have one Pokémon?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Just the one."

"But you tried to take on the elite four?"

"Yes Colby, didn't I already tell you this?"

"Just making sure." Cody sighed. "Listen why don't you get us a table and I'll find us some food okay?"

"Okay!"

Cody walked out of the lobby and into an adjacent room. He had to admit he was a little relieved to be away from Lindsay. Being around her was quite exhausting; though he didn't dislike her. Pokémon centers usually served food to traveling trainers and this one was no different. Cody didn't have any trouble finding the cafeteria part of the center where a Chansey was serving up bowls of soup. After getting a bowl for himself and Lindsay he headed back.

He found the blonde sitting at an empty table cleaning herself off with a hand towel and fixing her hair. "I got us some soup," he placed a bowl in front of her.

"Oh good," she grabbed a spoon and scooped up some soup from the bowl. "I'm famished." Both teens began to eat quietly. Once they were finished Cody decided it was time to answer any questions Lindsay had.

Her questions were basic and so Cody answered them easily. He told her the basics of his life. That his name was Cody, not Colby, that he was from Pallet town and that he had left to become a Pokémon trainer just that day. He then finished it off by showing her his Bulbasaur once he got it back from Nurse Joy.

"Aww how cute!" Lindsay gushed as she petted the top of the grass Pokémon. "I wish I had one."

That reminded Cody of the one question he wanted to ask. "So Lindsay, what Pokémon do you have? Do you think I could see it?"

"Uh huh," the blonde pulled out her sole pokeball. "Take a look at my super cute Pokémon!" She dropped it on the floor where it opened to reveal a circular pink Pokémon.

"Jigglypuff!" The Pokémon called out in a high pitched voice. It turned back to Lindsay and leapt into her arms.

"Isn't she the cutest?"

Cody pulled out his Pokedex. "A Jigglypuff huh? I've never seen one before. I wonder what the Pokedex says." The red handheld device displayed a picture of a Jigglypuff. "Jigglypuff: the balloon Pokémon. When its huge eyes light up, it sings a mysteriously soothing melody that lulls its enemies to sleep."

"How interesting," he said before closing the Pokedex. "I guess being cute is part of its fighting strategy."

"Oh I would never force poor Jigglypuff to fight!" Lindsay said as she squeezed the pink Pokémon rather tightly.

"So you haven't been in any Pokémon battles before?"

"No," she shook her head.

_I guess I shouldn't be surprised_, Cody thought to himself. "So anyway, do you trust me now?"

"Oh yeah," Lindsay nods. "You seem like a nice guy Colby."

"Well that's good." Cody said. "So have you decided what you're going to do tomorrow?"

"Yes," she told him. "I'm going to follow you on your adventure."

"W-What?"

"Well I can't go back home and I don't want to go out alone so I thought I could just come along with you." She explained. "That's okay right?"

"Well…I don't know…" Cody looked unsure. Lindsay was nice enough, but he worried she would slow him down. She didn't exactly look ready to go hike up a mountain or travel through a forest.

"Oh please let me come!" Lindsay cupped her hands together and begged. "Please oh please! I promise I'll be really helpful. I can give you fashion tips and Jigglypuff is a great singer." she turned to her Pokémon. "Sing a song for Cody, Jigglypuff."

Jigglypuff nodded. She then began to sing in a low slow voice. "Jigglypuff…Jiggly-puff…Jigglypuff…"

"Lindsay stop!" Cody urged the blonde. "Tell Jigglypuff to stop! If she keeps singing we'll both…"

"What's wrong?" She asked. "Jigglypuff is a great singer," she yawned. "Wow I feel really sleepy…" Lindsay laid both arms on the table and rested her head on them.

"Oh no…" Cody yawned. "Darn…it…" Both of his eyes closed as his head rested on the table.

In under a minute both teens were asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are appreciated. If you have any suggestions let me know. **


	3. Viridian Forest part 1

**A/N: Hey guys, I got another update for you. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time. Here's chapter 3, I hope you like it. Thanks for reading.**

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 3**

Cody awoke the next morning to find himself lying in a bunk-bed. He held a hand to his throbbing head as he tried to remember where he was. A pokeball sign above the entrance to the room he was in jogged his memory. As he remembered that he was in the Pokémon center he also recalled that he had fallen asleep against his will thanks to Lindsay's Jigglypuff and her ignorance of what her own Pokémon could do.

Shaking his head Cody got out of bed and to his feet. Judging by what he knew, the young Pokémon trainer ascertained that someone (likely Nurse Joy) had carried him to the sleeping quarters in the Pokémon center. Looking around he didn't see what he was searching for until a snore caught his attention. Looking up Cody saw Lindsay was asleep in the top part of the same bunk-bed he had slept in.

The blonde had her mouth open and one arm hanging off the edge of the bed. Annoyed at her after what happened the night before, Cody chose not to wake her up. Instead he made his way over to the bathroom to take a shower and then get some breakfast.

After a breakfast of eggs and bacon Cody recalled that he had promised to call his mother last night. He hadn't so much forgotten as having been put to sleep before he got the chance. Deciding now would have to do he sat down at one of the many video phones in the Pokémon Center.

He put in his home phone number and waited as it rang. A few seconds later his mother picked up the phone at the house and her face appeared on the screen (as he knew his was appearing on her screen). "Hey mom, it's me."

"Cody is that you?" she asked. "I was worried sick about you! Why didn't you call last night? Did you get lost getting to Viridian City?"

"No, nothing like that." he shook his head. "I arrived at Viridian yesterday, but wasn't able to call you…" he then explained what happened with Lindsay along with a few other details about his day while his mom listened attentively.

Meanwhile Lindsay had finally woken up. She stretched her arms and yawned. "Where…am I?" Looking around she didn't spot anything familiar. "This doesn't look like my room." Spotting a scruffy-looking boy around her age nearby she got his attention. "Excuse me, are you one of the new servants? Because I don't recognize you at all."

"Back off Blondie," the boy pushed her back. "I ain't nobodies servant!" he then walked off.

Lindsay frowned. "I'm like, so confused."

"You're at the Pokémon center in Viridian City."

"Ah!" Lindsay jumped up in surprise. She hadn't expected to suddenly hear a voice from behind her. But as she turned around she recognized the voice as Nurse Joy. "Oh it's just you Nurse Joyce."

"It's Joy actually," she said. "Anyway that boy you were with is already up. Now was he your brother or your boyfriend?"

Lindsay blinked a few times. "I don't have a brother…or a boyfriend." she said confused. "I have a sister though! Is she here?"

"I…don't think so." Now it was Nurse Joy's turn to be confused. "But if you're looking for that boy, he's in the next room."

Nurse Joy turned and walked away but Lindsay was still confused. She decided to go look for the boy Nurse Joy had told her about. She didn't have to go far before she spotted Cody leaving a video phone. Her eyes lit up in recognition. All at once she recalled most of what had happened yesterday.

"Colby! There you are!" she ran up behind and hugged him from the back. Cody went rigid and tensed up at the sudden feeling of Lindsay's arms wrapped around him and her breasts pushed into his back.

"L-Lindsay!" Feeling embarrassed and unaccustomed to such physical greetings the brunette squirmed free. He turned around to face her. There was no embarrassment on her face; just a smile. "I see your awake."

"Yeah," she nodded. "But I don't remember going to sleep. What happened anyway?"

"Your Jigglypuff sung us both to sleep." he explained. "You've got to be careful Lindsay. Jigglypuff's voice is an attack it uses to lull its enemies to sleep."

"Really?" Lindsay said surprised. "Daddy never told me that! But maybe that's why he gave me these earplugs." she pulled out a pair of small pink earplugs from her pocket. Cody rolled his eyes. The blonde decided it would be best to simply change the subject. "So hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready to leave." He picks up his backpack to illustrate this. "I still need to find the Viridian gym. I've got to hurry or Bridgette and Noah will surpass me."

"No wait!" Lindsay held her hands out in front of her. "Don't leave yet. I'm not ready!"

Cody scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry Lindsay, but I'm not sure it's such a good idea for you to come with me. I'm going to be traveling across all of Kanto catching Pokémon and challenging gyms. It's going to be a lot of exercise and I'll have to camp out most nights. I just don't think you'd like it."

"So…what your saying is…" Lindsay paused as the wheels in her brain began turning. "…you don't think I can do it?"

"I didn't say that!" Cody quickly assured her. "I didn't say that. I just…don't think you'd want to come. Plus you'd have to hang out with me the whole time and let's be honest, I'm not exactly cool. You'd be better off with someone else."

Lindsay leaned down till she was eye level with Cody. "That's not true Colby. You were the one who found me and helped me out yesterday. That makes you super cool in my book!"

Cody blushed. "He he t-thanks Lindsay."

"Plus, you can't just leave me here! I don't have anywhere else to go!" she reminded him. "You're not going to just leave me here all alone are you?" The blonde put on her best puppy dog face and tried to look sad.

Cody found himself cracking under the gaze of those big blue eyes. "Of…Of course not." he sighed. "I'm sorry Lindsay, you can come with me if you want."

Lindsay stood up and cheered. "Yay! You're the best Colby!" She leaned in and gave him another hug. Cody wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

It was almost an hour before they left the Pokémon Center. Lindsay had held them up getting ready and nothing Cody had said made much of a difference. He felt less tense however once they were outside in the sunlight. "If I remember correctly, the Viridian Gym should be at the north part of town." He pulled out a compass he kept in his backpack. "It should be this way."

Cody began walking through the small town with Lindsay right behind him. She had lived here her whole life but still wasn't sure where the gym was. Cody took this as a sign never to trust her with the directions. After walking north for a few streets he spotted a sign pointing the way to the gym.

"It shouldn't be far now," he said. They kept walking and passed an old man drinking coffee who waved at them. At that point there were no more houses and most of Viridian was behind them. Soon they spotted the Viridian gym to their left.

"Awesome! We made it." Cody ran over to the gym with Lindsay trailing behind. He quickly turned the handle only to find the door was locked. "What the-?" It was then he noticed a piece of paper taped to the door.

Lindsay walked over as Cody was reading what was written on the paper. "What's wrong Cody?" she looked at the door. "Is this one of those push not pull doors? Those always get me too."

"No," Cody bit his lip. "It's worse. This message says that the gym leader is gone and they don't know when he'll be back."

"Oh no," Lindsay's face fell. "What are you going to do?"

Cody sighed in defeat. "Nothing. There's nothing I can do. I can either wait for them to return or keep going and come back later. But if I come back later it'll probably be a while. Hmm…" he looked at the door again. "This sign has been here for a while; at least a few days. Neither Bridgette nor Noah could've battled the gym leader and I didn't see either of them last night at the Pokémon center. That means they must've moved on." Cody looked up at Lindsay. "I guess that's what we've got to do too."

"That's good, I don't really want to stay here any longer than I have to." Lindsay told her new friend. "I am done with Viridian City. Let's go somewhere else."

"Let me check my map," Cody pulled out the map Noah had given him just yesterday. "The next town is Pewter City, but to get there we'll have to go through the Viridian Forest."

"The _Viridian_ Forest?" the blonde groaned. "You mean we have to go back into town?"

"No," Cody shook his head. "The Viridian Forest is north of here. We just have to go through route two first. Doesn't look too hard." he folded the map back up and put it away. "Ready?" Lindsay nodded.

The two walked back to the main road and made their way north into route 2. It was actually one of the longest routes altogether, but only because it contained everything from Viridian to Pewter City. The path from Viridian City to Viridian Forest however was much shorter being only a little less than two miles.

It was almost a leisurely stroll for Cody and Lindsay who had nothing to worry about. There were a few patches of tall grass along with some loiterers but no danger of being attacked or challenged to a battle. The two teens spent most of the walk in light conversation discussing their home lives along with a few of their likes and dislikes.

An hour or so after leaving the gym they had arrived at the entrance to the forest. It wasn't a real entrance of course but still, there was no mistaking the line between dirt road and forest. Lindsay looked a little apprehensive at the sight of the forest. "Do we have to go in there?"

"Yes, it's the only way to get to Pewter City." Cody answered. "Unless we had a Pokémon that could us fly and carry us, but we don't." He turned back toward the forest and took a step forward. "Let's go in."

As Cody and Lindsay took their first steps into Viridian Forest the first thing they noticed was how much darker it was than normal thanks to the multitude of trees overhead. The sun was pushing through the cracks but was blocked nonetheless. The second thing they noticed was just how alive it was.

The sounds of the forest's Pokémon were all around them. Birds flew overhead as bugs crawled on the ground and every once in a while they'd hear something they couldn't quite identify. So many of the trees looked alike that Cody was relieved at the well marked path on the ground.

"Colby, I'm not sure about this…" Lindsay whimpered. The blonde looked, unsurprisingly, unhappy about their new surroundings.

"It's okay Lindsay," Cody grabbed her hand. "We just have to follow the path. As long as we stay on the path we'll make it to Pewter City. It should only take a day or two."

"Two days?" Lindsay gasped.

"Probably one day," the brunette corrected himself. "Plus, think of all the Pokémon in the forest! I can't wait to find them!" Just then he spotted some rustling in a nearby patch of grass. "Over there!" Cody grabbed Lindsay's hand and pulled the blonde along to the edge of the tall grass.

Suddenly a small Pokémon revealed itself. "Hey I know this Pokémon. It's a Caterpie!" Cody reached into his pants pocket to pull out his Pokedex but before he got the chance Lindsay screamed.

"Oh gross! It's a bug Pokémon!" She then leaped into Cody's arms. He groaned at the sudden weight he now had to carry. The brunette had little arm strength and while Lindsay may have been skinny for her age she was still more than Cody could carry. He struggled to hold her but soon slipped and fell onto his back. Lindsay landed on his stomach causing him more pain.

"Oww…"

"Where'd it go? Is it gone?" Lindsay's head turned from side to side searching for the bug Pokémon as she sat on top of Cody. "I can't find it! It's not on me is it? Eeek!"

With no warning Cody pushed Lindsay off of him. "It's gone." he stood up and sighed. "You must've scared it off." He turned to blonde with his arms crossed. "What was that about?"

"I don't like bug Pokémon!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I got that." Cody rolled his eyes.

"Their icky and gross!" Lindsay continued.

"Then we might have a problem Lindsay, because this whole forest is crawling with bug Pokémon!"

"Eeek!" the blonde gasped before hiding behind Cody. She looked rather silly bending down so as to appear smaller than him. "Keep them away Colby!"

Annoyed, Cody turned around and put his hands on Lindsay's shoulders. "Lindsay snap out of it! You said you wanted to come with me and I told you it wasn't going to be easy. You haven't given up yet have you?"

Lindsay hesitated. Despite her fear of bug Pokémon part of her knew very well there was no turning back. "N-No," she bravely shook her head. "I don't want to give up, but bug Pokémon really bug me! What should I do?"

"Hmm…" Cody paused to consider the situation. "Maybe I could blindfold you and then lead you through the forest?" But after a few seconds he shook his head. "No, that's a terrible idea. Ah." he snapped his fingers. "Lindsay call out Jigglypuff."

Unsure where he was going with this Lindsay obeyed anyway. "Come out Jigglypuff." she tossed her pokeball to the ground. The pink puffball shot out looking happy to no longer be confined. Without a word Cody went over and picked Jigglypuff up and placed the Pokémon in Lindsay's arms.

"Here," he said. "Hold onto Jigglypuff while we walk. Maybe that'll make it easier on you. Jigglypuff does seem to calm you down."

"If you say so," she hugged her Pokémon close to her.

"Now let's go." Cody and Lindsay returned to the path and made their way through the forest. The duo walked for a few hours stopping only to eat a brief lunch. Lindsay's fear of bug Pokémon continued, however, she managed to avoid another freak out. Of course this was mostly because Cody was doing his best to avoid as many bug Pokémon as possible.

He couldn't avoid them all of course. Pokémon were everywhere in the Viridian Forest. There was something else in the forest that Cody hadn't counted on and that was bug catchers. Pokémon trainers situated throughout the forest that collected bug Pokémon and loved to show off their collection. The problem was they loved challenging Pokémon trainers attempting to pass through the forest to a battle.

Cody was one of these Pokémon trainers. A bug catcher had ambushed him and challenged him to a battle. He accepted (not that he had a choice) and brought out his newly caught Rattata. His opponent's first Pokémon was a Caterpie. The two battled while Lindsay stood at a safe distance in the background watching. She was delighted when Cody's Rattata defeated the Caterpie, but it turned out that wasn't the bug catcher's only Pokémon.

"Go Weedle!"

Another similar but different bug Pokémon appeared. "A Weedle huh?" Cody pulled out his Pokedex and checked it. "Weedle: the hairy bug Pokémon. They are often found eating leaves in forests. It has a sharp, venomous stinger on its head."

Confident that his Rattata could continue the fight, Cody ordered it to use quick attack. The battle started out well, however the Weedle's string shot effectively cut Rattata's speed in half. Soon it was clear the rat Pokémon could not continue. "Rattata return!" A red light shot out of the pokeball he was holding in his hand and enveloped the Pokémon. Once it was back in its pokeball Cody called out his other Pokémon.

"Go Bulbasaur! Tackle it!" Bulbasaur obeyed and the battle came to a quick conclusion as Weedle was knocked out. The bug catcher had no more Pokémon and was defeated.

"Yes!" Cody cheered. "I won!" It was then he realized his Pokedex was beeping. "What's this?" he checked it. "Bulbasaur learned vine whip? Good job buddy." he told his Pokémon before returning it to its pokeball.

After collecting his reward from the bug catcher he and Lindsay continued making their way further and further into the forest. Another bug catcher appeared and Cody once again went into battle. This one had four Weedle's, but despite its number advantage Cody won handily.

Lindsay had been trying to take her mind off of her fear of bugs by complaining about everything else. She was tired, sweaty, and was pretty sure a Caterpie had bitten her on the leg. Cody told her they had to keep going but would try to avoid anymore trainers. This made Lindsay feel a little better until they came across a flying bug Pokémon that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"It's a Beedrill," Cody said as he checked his Pokedex. "Beedrill: the poison bee Pokémon. Beedrill fly at high speeds and attack with three stingers. May appear in swarms. "

"Cody!" Lindsay tugged on the boy's arm. "Don't fight it! Let's just go the other way okay?"

"This is the fastest way to get through the grass." he explained. "I'm sorry Lindsay, but it shouldn't take long." Turning back to the Beedrill Cody called out his Bulbasaur and began battling it.

Lindsay meanwhile was backing away from the battle. She wasn't looking where she was going and walked back into a large tree with a thud. This wouldn't have been a problem if the tree wasn't filled with bug Pokémon. When Lindsay accidentally slammed into it half a dozen Weedles fell out of the tree and on top of her.

"Ahhhhh!" The blonde screamed at the top of her lungs. Cody had just knocked out the Beedrill when he turned to see Lindsay running off in a different direction screaming.

"What the-?" Cody recalled his Pokémon. "Lindsay wait!" He ran after her. The blonde wasn't looking where she was going and ran straight into tall grass. Cody hesitated for a second seeing her leave the path but ran after her anyway. Despite being fairly non-athletic and wearing cowboy boots, Lindsay was running very fast. Cody was having trouble catching up with her.

He soon chased her through an area filled with trees. The trees made it hard to run and easy to lose sight of her. Believing she had gone left he followed that way for over a minute before finding a dead end. Cursing himself for going the wrong way he turned around and ran back. Cody soon found himself at a fork with no obvious choice. He thought he could hear an echo of Lindsay's scream but wasn't sure where it was coming from. Deciding to go to the right he ran onward.

The young Pokémon trainer kept running for almost five minutes before he had to stop and catch his breath. He listened, but to no avail. Her screams had died out and Cody had to accept that she was long gone. He wasn't sure where he had taken a wrong turn but he had clearly gone the wrong way.

"Now what?" he asked himself. Looking around he hadn't realized before how eerie the forest seemed when you were alone. No longer wanting to stand there alone Cody began jogging back the way he had come. _I can't keep going further into the forest,_ he thought to himself. _I'll just get lost. It's better if I head back to the path. Hopefully Lindsay will find her way onto the path and we can meet up_. He realized it wasn't a great plan, but couldn't think of anything else.

For the next ten minutes he tried to retrace his steps but only succeeded in getting himself farther into the forest. Turning around he searched for the fork where he could find his way back but couldn't find it. After wandering around for fifteen minutes Cody could only come to one conclusion: he was lost.

* * *

Hours passed and the sun began to set. It was growing dark in the forest. Cody was exhausted from walking all day. His stomach grumbled furiously. Hunger and the lack of light were telling him to call it a day. He knew he should make camp, but felt guilty about stopping knowing Lindsay was out there somewhere alone. He was fairly certain the blonde was having a harder time than he was.

It was then when his stomach growled for the seventh time that hour that he caught a glimpse of light in the distance. Squinting his eyes he realized it was a campfire. Cody hadn't seen another human being (though several Pokémon) since he had run after Lindsay. The feeling of hope began to swell inside him.

He broke into a run. His muscles ached but he ignored them. The fire was not far and he was sure someone would be there tending to it. He doubted Lindsay could make a fire, but perhaps it was someone who had found Lindsay. It might even by Bridgette or Noah if he was lucky. The chances were tiny but at the moment his hope was getting away with him.

After running through several bushes and past half a dozen trees Cody came into a clearing about the size of his house. There was indeed a campfire burning safely in the middle, but only one person was there tending to it and they were not familiar to Cody.

It was a teenage boy with red hair, freckles and glasses. He was tall and lanky wearing a blue t-shirt with a hamburger in the middle over a salmon colored long sleeve shirt along with green pants and tennis shoes. He was sitting on a log beside a large red backpack and a tent. In his hands he held a burrito he was halfway through eating.

His attention was drawn to Cody immediately. "Hey, what are you doing here? This is my camp you know." His voice was rather nasally.

Cody sighed in disappointment. "Sorry I just saw your fire and thought maybe…" he shook his head. "You're just another bug catcher aren't you?"

The boy stood up and carefully put down his burrito. "I am no mere bug catcher. I'm Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady the fifth and I'm a nature survivalist. I live in these woods where I've learned the ways of the bug Pokémon and become one with nature."

Cody paused for a moment to take that in. "So…you're like the king of the bug catchers?"

"I'm not a bug catcher, gosh!" Harold exclaimed. "I just happen to have all bug Pokémon. It's different!"

"Okay, okay," Cody tried to diffuse the situation. "Listen, I'm a Pokémon trainer traveling to Pewter City with my friend. Unfortunately I got separated from her and then I got lost. Have you seen her around?"

"I don't know." Harold answered. "What does she look like?"

"Well she's blonde, tall, and really hot."

Harold sat back down. "I think you've been stung with poison sting one too many times. I doubt there's a beautiful model running around the forest and even if there was, I don't think she'd be with you."

"Ouch," Cody cringed. "But fair point; I get it. But I am telling the truth!"

"Well I haven't see her." the bug Pokémon trainer went back to his burrito.

Cody sighed. "I was afraid of that. Listen is there any way you could help me get back to the path? I have no clue where I am right now."

"Hmm…" Harold thought for a minute as he finished eating his burrito. He then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "How about this? We'll have a Pokémon battle. If you win, I'll help look for your friend and get you both to the end of the forest. But if I win, you have to give me some of your food…because I just ran out."

Cody was surprised by the challenge but knew he had to accept. He could think of no other way out of the forest. "Alright then, I accept." Harold held out his hand and the two boys shook on it. But when Cody pulled out a pokeball Harold stopped him.

"Wait, not right now." he said. "It's too dark. We'll have our battle in the morning. Till then you're welcome to share my fire."

"Alright, thanks." Cody took off his backpack and sat down next to Harold by the fire. "I'm Cody, by the way."

"You can just call me Harold."

Cody nodded and pulled out some of his food supplies. As he ate dinner he worried about Lindsay and what had happened to her.

What he didn't know was that she was thinking about him at the same time. Somewhere else in the forest the blonde was tired, hungry, and thoroughly scratched. When her feet couldn't walk anymore she had simply collapsed and now lay on the grass huddled in the fetal position. She had no idea how her day had started so well but ended so horribly. Shivering her dry lips muttered one name.

"C-Cody…"

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are appreciated. **


	4. Viridian Forest part 2

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. **

C**ody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 4**

Cody awoke early the next morning, long before Harold got up. The fire had gone out and there was a somber silence throughout the forest as the first rays of the sun peaked through the trees. Cody's back was sore from sleeping in the grass in a sleeping bag rather than a bed. As he felt his back pop he reminded himself that this would be a regular occurrence and that he would get used to it.

His thoughts returned to Lindsay. Where was she? He was worried about her and hoped Harold would be able to help him find her. But he knew before the bug trainer would even try Cody would have to defeat him in a Pokémon match.

He looked at his two Pokémon and frowned. _The Viridian Forest really needs a Pokémon Center in it,_ he thought to himself. Neither of his Pokémon were at full strength. Bulbasaur wasn't doing too bad but his Rattata was on its last leg. He regretted not capturing more Pokémon earlier.

But there was nothing for it; he would have to make due. Remembering the potion he bought back in Viridian City, Cody came up with a plan. First he let Bulbasaur out of its pokeball. Next he sprayed the grass Pokémon with his one potion to return it to full health. "That's the best I can do." he sighed. _I only hope Harold can't back up his claims. _

Twenty minutes later Harold came around. The bug trainer almost seemed to have forgotten that Cody had spent the night at his campsite. "Cody…right?"

The brunette nodded. "Are you ready for our Pokémon battle?"

Harold's stomach grumbled in protest. "Got any breakfast?"

* * *

Lindsay woke up scared.

She had hoped that getting separated from Cody and lost in a forest full of bug Pokémon was nothing more than a nightmare. Realizing this wasn't the case she went back to being frantically afraid. The Viridian forest wasn't as scary in the morning as it was at night, but the more time passed the most Lindsay worried she'd never get out.

She hadn't brought much food with her but the little she had was eaten the night before. Her stomach growled angrily at her wanting to be fed. For once she had to learn to ignore it. Getting to her feet she began to walk. Both of her legs were sore from yesterday so she decided not to run unless she really had to.

"Cody?" she called out into the forest. "Cody?" This was Lindsay's only plan: keep walking until Cody finds her and hope he would eventually hear her voice. Her beloved Jigglypuff was kept safe in her pokeball and the blonde didn't want to take it out unless she really needed the Pokémon's help.

Lindsay walked for about an hour and in that time she didn't see anyone at all. The blonde had little experience navigating her way through forests and so she missed all the little signs that may have told her where to go. All that time she had been calling out for Cody, her voice had become hoarse. What she needed was some water to drink, but her water bottle was empty.

Luckily she wasn't too far from a stream. The sound of running water was something she did recognize. Heading toward it she ran in one direction for a few minutes before spotting a small stream ahead of her. "Water!" she called out quietly. Her throat was still sore.

She ran over. When she was only a few feet from the stream she tripped over something and fell face first into the water. "Oww…" she sputtered. Her face, arms, and top were now completely soaked. "What the heck?" Lindsay pulled herself to her feet, groaning as she did and noticing her elbows were cut.

A lone Kakuna was lying sideways on the ground right where she had tripped. It was clear this was what had knocked her into the stream. Suddenly all of Lindsay's stress and fears turned to anger and frustration.

"Grrr!" she balled her hands up into fists and walked over. "You stupid bug Pokémon! I hate you!" and with that she pulled her right leg back before kicking the Kakuna straight into the air. "I hate you all!" She stomped her foot on the ground angrily.

The Kakuna landed a few feet away next to a tree. After it landed both of its eyes lit up for a brief second. The sound of buzzing could be heard from the tree overhead. Lindsay herself heard it a few seconds later. "What the…? Oh no…" she whimpered as the buzzing started to come from all the nearby trees.

As if summoned by some unheard siren, a swarm of Beedrill appeared out of the trees. There were almost half a dozen per tree and they all seemed to show up at the same time. Lindsay knew little of Pokémon facial expressions, but even she could tell they looked angry. There was a brief moment where neither human nor Pokémon moved.

"Ahhh!" Lindsay screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran from the swarm of Beedrill. She ran as fast as her long legs could take her in those cowboy boots. The swarm followed closely behind as the blonde pushed past tree, shrub and rock. Her life was in danger and for once that was all she was concerned with.

But Lindsay knew she couldn't keep up the pace for very long. She had been tired to begin with. Thanks to the feeling of mortal terror she could sprint for a few minutes but that time was almost up and she hadn't outrun the Beedrill. If anything, the bug Pokémon had nearly caught up to her. Tears filled her eyes as she wondered briefly what would become of her.

Just then she heard a human voice call out to her. "Hey! Over here!" Lindsay's eyes searched frantically for the voice before she realized it came from someone a good thirty feet in front of her. This person had been hard to make out thanks to their height and green clothing. Lindsay ran straight for the person without a second thought.

"Go Abra!"

As Lindsay got closer she watched the stranger throw a pokeball and out came a strange, small Pokémon that sat on the ground with its eyes closed. Lindsay didn't know why the Pokémon had been called out but she was less than ten feet from the stranger now.

"Take my hand!"

Lindsay could now tell by appearance and the sound of their voice that this person was a girl. She stretched out her hand and clasped the other girl's hand as soon as she could. The second she did the stranger cried out. "Abra use teleport!"

Suddenly both girls and the Abra had completely disappeared. Seconds later the swarm of Beedrill reached the location where they had last been but found no trace of them. They searched high and low but eventually gave up when it became obvious their search was fruitless.

* * *

"Are you done yet?" Cody asked impatiently.

He had given Harold a grape flavored fruit pie to eat as breakfast and had spent the last ten minutes waiting for him to finish it. "Yes," Harold finally answered crushing the wrapper into a ball and sticking it in his pocket.

"I don't mean to rush you, but I really need to find my friend." Cody reminded the bug Pokémon trainer.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You still have to beat me first."

"I know," Cody said. "Is there any way you'd agree to a one on one battle?"

"You're that worried huh?" Harold wiped his nose with his hand. "Maybe this girl isn't imaginary after all."

"Well that, and I only have one healthy Pokémon I can use."

"Only one?" Harold looked disappointed. "What, did you already lose to all the bug Pokémon trainers?"

"No, but I only have two Pokémon and the other one isn't that strong." he answered.

"Wait, how long have you been a trainer?" Harold asked suspiciously.

Cody sighed. "Only a few days."

"Oh so you're a newbie huh?" Harold shrugged. "Yeah, alright. I guess I'll go easy on you and have a one on one battle."

"Great," Cody pulled out his pokeball. "Go Bulbasaur!" he tossed the ball into the air and out came his grass Pokémon. It called out a greeting in its own language.

"A Bulbasaur huh?" Harold searched through his bag before pulling out his own pokeball. "Time to show off our mad skills Butterfree!" he tossed the pokeball out and a flying bug Pokémon appeared. The Butterfree seemed rather excited to see Harold.

"Okay Butterfree, this won't take long. Hit him with confusion!"

Butterfree unleashed a psychic blast that knocked Bulbasaur off its feet. Cody's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Harold to start off with a strong attack like confusion. As Bulbasaur struggled to its feet Cody knew he'd have to do the same if he wanted to win. "Bulbasaur use leech seed!"

"Bulbasaur!" Tiny seeds began to shoot out of the pod on Bulbasaur's back. They shot straight up into the air and onto Butterfree. The seeds clung onto the Pokémon's skin and stayed there.

"Butterfree use tackle!"

"Bulbasaur dodge it!" Butterfree flew down at a rapid speed and swung its body at Bulbasaur. But Cody had called out his attack just in time so the grass Pokémon leapt out of the way. "Now you use tackle!"

With Butterfree still coming out of its dive it was easy for Bulbasaur to slam right into it. The attack didn't appear to have done all that much damage but as Butterfree attempted to get back up into the air its body shuddered for a moment as the seeds on its body sucked out its energy. The energy was then transferred by a green light into Bulbasaur; healing it slightly.

"Not bad." Harold acknowledged. "Butterfree use string shot!" White webbing shot out of the bug Pokémon's mouth covering Bulbasaur.

"Try and tackle it again Bulbasaur!"

But Butterfree easily avoided Bulbasaur's tackle. Harold didn't miss a beat. "Use poison powder!" Butterfree began to beat its wings faster and faster and soon a purple-colored substance appeared in the air. It seemed to have come out of its wings. It enveloped Bulbasaur before disappearing seconds later. But Cody could tell that Bulbasaur was sick with poison.

Bulbasaur shuddered as the poison ate into its health points. Immediately after some of Butterfree's health was transferred to Bulbasaur thanks to leech seed. While this was helpful, Cody knew it wouldn't be enough. Harold was hitting him hard and the poison was doing away all of the good from leech seed.

"Bulbasaur use vine whip!" Cody called out. A green vine came out of either side of Bulbasaur and grew in length till it was at least four feet. It then snapped at Butterfree knocking it back and doing sizable damage.

"Use string shot again Butterfree," Harold told his Pokémon. "Then hit it with another tackle!" Butterfree once again shot string shot out of its mouth and coated Bulbasaur in another layer of the sticky substance. It then shot down and tackled the grass Pokémon again.

But Cody made no move to have Bulbasaur avoid the attack or run away. He waited till it was over to move. "Use vine whip again!" The two long vines shot out of Bulbasaur and knocked it to the ground.

"What the-?" Underneath his glasses Harold's eyes grew wide. He hadn't realized that Bulbasaur's vine whip wasn't slowed down by string shot. Only now did he realize it wouldn't affect it as long as the vines weren't out when he used string shot. "Pretty good for a newb." Just then Bulbasaur shuddered as the poison hit again and Butterfree once again lost health points that transferred to its opponent. Harold was getting frustrated. "Just hit it with confusion again! Gosh!"

Butterfree shot another psychic blast that hit Bulbasaur hard. "Just keep using vine whip!" Cody told his Pokémon. He knew Butterfree was too fast to hit with anything else. Once again the whips came out and damaged Butterfree.

"Confusion!" Harold cried out again.

Cody knew his Bulbasaur was on its last leg. "Vine whip again! But this time bring it down to your level!"

This time Bulbasaur's vine whip grabbed Butterfree rather than hitting it, and slammed it down right in front of the grass Pokémon. The second it hit the ground Cody called out his next attack. "Now tackle it!"

Bulbasaur's tackle attack was quite slow, but since Butterfree was right in front of it there was no time for the bug Pokémon to get back in the air. It hit the ground once more and did not get back up.

"Knock out," Cody sighed in relief and fell to his knees. "I win."

"Gosh I can't believe I lost. And after everything I learned at Magic Steve's bug Pokémon camp." Harold sighed and recalled his Pokémon. "Good work anyway Butterfree."

"Great job out there Bulbasaur," Cody said recalling his Pokémon to its pokeball. He then turned to Harold and held out his hand. "Good battle Harold. You almost beat me."

"Yeah," Harold shook the outstretched hand. "It was kinda fun wasn't it? I'm sorta bummed my awesome bug Pokémon lost to a beginner though."

"Well…there's always next time?" Cody suggested in a strange backwards kind of optimism. Harold then handed him an antidote to cure Bulbasaur of its poison. Cody used quickly then turned back to Harold. "Anyway, you can help me find Lindsay now and get out of this forest?"

Harold readjusted his glasses. "Alright, I am a man of honor and a man of honor would never go back on his word." After a short search through his backpack he pulled out a different pokeball. "I would've preferred to use Butterfree for this, but since you knocked him out I'll have to make due."

He tossed open the pokeball. "Go Beedrill!" The yellow Pokémon that frequented this forest came out and circled Harold. "Beedrill will go looking for your friend." he told Cody. "You just have to describe her first."

Cody understood and began to describe Lindsay's physical appearance and clothing to Harold's Pokémon. Once he was finished Harold gave the order. "Alright Beedrill I need you to search for that girl alright?" Beedrill buzzed. "When you've spotted her come find us, but don't come back to camp. We won't be here when you get back."

Beedrill then flew off to search the forest. Cody turned to look at Harold once it was gone. "We're leaving?"

"The only way I know to find your friend is to have my Pokémon search for her." Harold explained. "But while it's doing that I'm going to take you back to the path. That way even if Beedrill can't find your friend you at least won't be lost."

Cody frowned. He didn't like the idea of not finding Lindsay, but knew of no other way to find her besides combing the entire forest. He decided to go along with it for now. If he didn't find Lindsay before reaching the path he'd have to come up with another plan; with or without Harold's help.

* * *

Lindsay blinked. She felt very confused as she looked around at her surroundings. She appeared to still be in Viridian forest, but the trees were all wrong. She didn't remember being anywhere near the path and was quite sure a swarm of angry Beedrill's had been chasing her only moments before. Whatever part of the forest she was in now was quiet and serene.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice asked her.

Lindsay looked up to see the stranger standing above her. Now that she wasn't running for her life, the blonde got a better look at her. The girl was significantly shorter than Lindsay, but they both blonde hair. The difference was this new girl's blonde hair was much lighter in color. Her skin was also very pale. She wore a forest green sweater over what looked like a blue blouse, along with a black skirt, purple leggings and black shoes. Overall this girl had a very mysterious, ethereal feeling to her that Lindsay was not familiar with.

"W-Where are we?" she asked. "What happened to all the bug Pokémon?"

"Don't worry, you're perfectly safe." the girl answered. "I had my Abra teleport us to a different part of the forest. There's at least a mile between us and those Beedrill. I wonder what upset them so…" She seemed to get lost in her head for a minute before returning to the present. "Oh I'm Dawn by the way. What's your name?"

"I'm L-Lindsay…" the blonde barely got out before she started to sob.

"Oh my," Dawn bent down to Lindsay's level. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize how purple your aura is. You must be very upset about something. What's wrong?"

"I'm lost!" Lindsay cried out. "And I can't find Cody!"

Sympathy swept through Dawn at the sight of tears running down Lindsay's face. "Oh it's okay, don't cry. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I'm sure I can help you get out." she paused briefly. "But who is Cody?"

"Cody is my friend," Lindsay answered. "He came with me into the forest but I got scared and ran off and then I couldn't find him again!" she sobbed. "And now I'm tired and hungry and I want to take a shower!"

Dawn didn't quite know what to say to that. Instead she took Lindsay's hand and helped her to her feet. Then she reached up and wiped Lindsay's eyes. "No more crying okay? I'm going to help you."

Surprisingly, Lindsay nodded and ceased her crying. Dawn recalled Abra, and then lead Lindsay over to the path. They began to follow it east. "Pewter City is still quite a ways away. We won't reach it for another couple of hours but as long as we stay on the path we'll both be alright."

"What about Cody?" Lindsay brought back up. It seemed she would not stop asking until she got her answer.

"I don't know where he is," Dawn answered absentmindedly. "Is this friend of yours a Pokémon trainer?"

"Oh yeah," Lindsay nodded as if she had just remembered this. "He's new, but I think he's already pretty good."

Dawn nodded. "Now would you say this boy is around the same intelligence level as you, or higher?"

"Huh?"

"…is Cody smarter than you?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lindsay nodded. "He's like…really smart!"

"Well than you shouldn't have anything to worry about." Dawn assured her. "If he's smarter than you, I'm sure he's on the path and we'll find him eventually."

Hearing this made Lindsay feel better. She felt like she could trust Dawn for some reason; even if she didn't understand the smaller girl. "Thank you Dusk. I'm so glad you found me when you did."

Dawn frowned when she heard Lindsay get her name wrong but chose not to correct her. "It's alright Lindsay, I'm happy to help. Also if I didn't help you I worry what other damage you would cause to the forest and all the Pokémon…" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing…"

They kept walking along the path. They went undisturbed for over an hour until Dawn spotted something heading their way up in the sky. She raised her hand over her eyes to block out the sun. A Pokémon was flying toward them. Dawn stopped walking and waited. "What is it?" Lindsay asked.

A few seconds later it came into view. It was a Beedrill and it was headed straight for them. "Oh no!" Lindsay ducked and hid behind Dawn with both hands over her head. "They found me! How did they find me?"

"Calm yourself Lindsay." Dawn spoke softly. "This Beedrill means us no harm." The bug Pokémon in question stopped flying right in front of Dawn and buzzed at her. Lindsay watched as her new companion actually seemed to be listening to the Pokémon as if she could understand it. Every so often she would nod or say some word of agreement.

"Alright then, goodbye!" Dawn said as the Beedrill had apparently finished speaking to her. It flew off back in the direction it came. Lindsay stood back up and looked at Dawn with a strange look on her face.

"Can you talk to bug Pokémon or something?" she asked. "Cause that would be really weird."

Dawn decided to ignore this question. "I have good news Lindsay. I believe you'll be reunited with your friend Cody very soon."

"Really?" Lindsay's eyes lit up excitedly.

The smaller girl nodded. "That Beedrill was sent out by a trainer looking to find you. I don't know who this trainer is, but according to the Beedrill your friend Cody is with him and trying to find you."

"That's great news!" the dumber girl clapped her hands together. She stayed silent for a minute as she thought it over. "Now what do we do?"

"Now we wait. And we walk."

"More walking? Ughh…"

* * *

Elsewhere Cody and Harold were making their way through the forest with excellent speed. Harold seemed to know what he was doing and with him in the lead they successfully avoided walking in circles. "How far are we from the path?" Cody suddenly asked. Neither of them had spoken in a while so the sound briefly startled Harold.

"Umm…not far." he answered. "I wonder where Beedrill is? How long does it take to find a person? Gosh."

Harold kept walking for a good thirty seconds before he realized Cody was no longer behind him. Turning around he couldn't see his companion at all. He began to freak out wondering what had happened when Cody walked back into Harold's line of sight. "What are you doing? Where'd you go?"

"Harold come over here." Cody motioned him over with his hand.

"Why?"

"Just…come on! I think I found an injured Pokémon."

This caught Harold's attention and he jogged over. Cody raised his hand and pointed with his index finger to the left. Both boys pushed past a small shrub to find a small yellow Pokémon lying on its side unconscious. It looked hurt as if it had recently been in a fight with another Pokémon.

"It's a Pikachu," Harold whispered. "And it's injured."

"I wonder what did this to it?" Cody looked down at the small Pokémon with pity. "Poor guy…"

"We should get it to a Pokémon center." Harold told Cody. He then checked his pockets. "Crud! I'm all out of pokeballs."

"I have some." Cody offered.

"Do you? Good, then capture that Pikachu."

"You want me to capture it?" Cody asked surprised.

Harold nodded. "If you capture it, it'll stay safe in your pokeball until we can get it to the Pokémon center."

"Then we better hurry," Cody said pulling out an empty pokeball. He tossed it at the Pikachu right away. It didn't resist at all and almost immediately the capture was complete. He picked it up and then opened his Pokedex near the ball. "Pikachu: the mouse Pokémon. When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity can build and cause lightning storms."

"We should go." Harold stated. Cody nodded and the two headed back to their original path. They didn't walk for five minutes before Harold's Beedrill made its return. "Awesome!" Harold said excitedly. "I think Beedrill found your friend."

"Really? That's great!" Cody shared his enthusiasm. "Now we just have to follow it back to them right?"

Harold nodded. "Lead the way Beedrill." The bug Pokémon immediately flew off at a pace the two boys could follow in the same direction Harold had been taking them.

They made their way through the forest for half an hour until finally they came across the path. "Ha! I knew we were close. Had Beedrill not shown up I would've led us here." Harold congratulated himself.

"Do you know where on the path we are?" Cody asked looking from one side to the next. "Or which way leads to Pewter City?"

"Of course. Pewter City is that way." he pointed to the left. "We're only about two hours away from here." The redhead spotted his Beedrill heading the opposite way down the path. "But it looks like your friend is the other way."

"Wait…you mean she's on the path?" Cody asked surprised. When Harold nodded he looked relieved. "Well that's good. I didn't expect her to find her way back, but it's a good thing she did."

"Let's go." Both boys followed the bug Pokémon along the path. They jogged at a quick pace hoping to get there faster.

* * *

An hour later both groups spotted each other. Cody and Harold had turned a corner following Beedrill to find Lindsay and Dawn a mere thirty feet away. "Lindsay!" the brunette called out as he spotted the blonde.

Lindsay looked up to see Cody waving at her. "Cody!" Her tiredness forgotten, she quickly ran forward and enveloped the smaller boy in a hug. "Oh Cody! I was so scared when I lost you! I thought I was going to be trapped in this forest forever!" she said squeezing him between her breasts.

"I missed you too Lindsay," Cody said the moment she let him go and he was able to breathe again. "Hey," something occurred to him. "You finally got my name right!"

"I did?" Lindsay blinked. "Oh hey I did! Yay me!" Just then she spotted Harold. "Who's that guy? Is he one of those bug catcher guys?"

"This is Harold," Cody introduced the redhead. "I found him when I was looking for you last night. He actually helped me find you. And yes, he does use bug Pokémon."

Harold took Lindsay's right hand and kissed it. "It's nice to meet you, my lady. I'm glad to see your well and not imaginary like I thought. You're just as pretty as Cody described."

"Oh well thanks Henry," Lindsay replied. "It's nice to meet you too. And this is my new friend Dusk." she indicated Dawn who was standing beside her with both arms behind her back. "She saved my life and helped me find the path."

"It's Dawn actually," the shorter girl said as she shook both Cody and Harold's hands.

"It's nice to meet you," Cody said. "And thank you for saving Lindsay. I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

Dawn shrugged. "She wasn't that bad."

Lindsay began poking Cody to get his attention. "Cody can we leave now? I want out of this forest already!"

"Yeah, I don't want to stay here any longer either." he answered her. "We found an injured Pikachu and need to get it to a Pokémon center quickly." He showed her the pokeball he was carrying it in.

"You found an injured Pokémon in this forest?" Dawn asked. When Cody nodded she took the pokeball from him and put her hand over the top of it. "Oh you poor thing. I bet it was Team Rocket that did this."

"Team Rocket? Who are they?" Harold asked.

"Aren't they a group of Pokémon thieves?" Cody thought back to the conversation he overheard back at the PokeMart.

"That's right. And two nights ago they made their way through this forest." Dawn explained. "I tried to warn as many Pokémon as I could to avoid them at all costs, but there wasn't time to warn them all. It seems this little one may have gotten in their way."

"Well Team Rocket or not, we should hurry to the Pokémon Center." Cody took the pokeball back.

The four of them set off once again for Pewter City. They followed the path which, according to Harold, would get them there in only a few hours. The walk was mostly uneventful. They managed to avoid any Pokémon trainers they came across, but this was partially because there was so few left. While they walked the four talked amongst themselves learning different things about each other.

By late afternoon they had made it to the edge of Viridian Forest. They could all see the end of the trees just ahead. "We made it!" The four ran until they reached the end of the forest. They looked down and could see Pewter City below them. From their high position they could make out all the different building and could even spot the Pewter Gym.

Lindsay fell to her knees. "Oh thank God. We're free!"

Cody turned to Harold and Dawn. "Thank you both so much. I'm not sure we would've made it out of there without your help."

"It was no trouble." Dawn said.

"I was just fulfilling our agreement." Harold stated.

"Will you be coming with us, or are you going back to the forest?" Cody asked with mild interest.

"I'm coming," Harold said. "At least for a little while. I want to make sure that Pikachu is alright. Plus I really need to restock my supplies."

But Dawn shook her head. "I'm afraid this is where we must part. I am needed back in the forest for now."

"Aww Dusk!" Lindsay frowned. The look on her face was filled with disappointment. "Don't leave! I'm going to miss you."

Dawn smiled. "Don't worry, I get the feeling we'll see each other again. I won't stay in this forest forever, but for now I must listen to mother earth."

"Goodbye, and thanks for everything!" Cody waved.

"See you later."

"Goodbye!"

Dawn slowly walked backwards into the forest. A few seconds later she seemed to have disappeared into its depths, but all three of them heard her call out. "Goodbye my friends."

"That girl was weird." Harold said sticking a finger up his nose.

"We should go." Cody then noticed Lindsay was sitting on the ground again. "Lindsay?"

"I'm tired." she put on her best puppy-dog face. "Will you carry me? Please?"

And that's how Cody found himself walking to Pewter City attempting to carrying a girl much taller than himself on his back.

* * *

**A/N: ****Thanks for reading, and as always reviews are appreciated.**


	5. Pewter City part 1

**A/N: So I didn't get too much response last chapter in regard to the pairing. This was slightly disappointing. Most people didn't really care, so after thinking it over I've decided to just do whatever I want. What does that mean? Well I'm keeping it a secret. Keep reading and you'll find out eventually. **

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 5**

Cody, Lindsay and Harold were all exhausted as they made their way into Pewter City and left Viridian Forest behind. They headed straight for the Pokémon Center without even looking at the rest of the city. Cody and Harold just wanted to get the Pikachu Cody had found in the forest healed as fast as they could while Lindsay just wanted to collapse.

By the time they reached the Pokémon Center the sun was already beginning to set. They hurried inside to find the center quiet, but not empty. Nurse Joy was at her usual spot behind the counter apparently conversing casually with a Chansey nurse. The three hurried up to the counter. Cody and Harold stood side by side in front while Lindsay lingered behind them.

"Excuse me?" Cody tried to get Nurse Joy's attention.

The pink-haired woman turned to them and smiled. "Can I help either of you gentlemen?"

"Yes, I found a Pikachu in the Viridian Forest that had been injured." Cody put the pokeball with Pikachu in it on the counter. "I'm not sure how badly its hurt, but it definitely needs help!"

"Of course," Nurse Joy nodded. "You did the right thing bringing it here. I'll get to it right away." she took the pokeball off the counter and held it in one hand. "While I'm doing that, do any of your other Pokémon need to be looked at?"

"Actually yes," Cody began to pull out his other two pokeballs. "Both of my Pokémon could use some healing."

"Mine too," Harold said adding his pokeballs to the pile.

The nurse smiled. "I'll get started right away. Please wait until then and feel free to use any of the Pokémon Center's facilities."

Both Cody and Harold thanked her, and then moved away from the counter so as not to block it. Both boys sank into a nearby red couch while Lindsay sat across from them in a comfy white chair. After a few seconds Cody turned his head to Harold. "Do you think Pikachu will be okay?"

"It should be okay," Harold answered while staring at the ceiling. "I've never heard of Nurse Joy failing to save a Pokémon."

"Yeah…" A thought occurred to him. "What's up with Nurse Joy anyway? She looked exactly the same as the one in Viridian City. Didn't you think so Lindsay?"

"Huh?" the blonde blinked a few times and then yawned. "Did she? I thought this one looked chubbier than the other lady." Cody gave her a weird look but didn't say anything."

"All Nurse Joy's look exactly alike." Harold explained. "Apparently there's one in every Pokémon Center and they all look identical."

"How does that work?"

"I'm…not sure." The bug trainer put his hand under his chin as if in deep thought. "I asked once and Nurse Joy showed me a picture of her family. There were a dozen or so Joy's all posing for the camera. She says they're all sisters, but I have my own theory. I think they all must be clones of the original."

"But who would be cloning them?" Cody asked curiously.

Harold shook his head. "I don't know. Whoever is in control of all the Pokémon centers? Someone like that I guess. Well, it doesn't matter."

Cody nodded. It didn't seem to him like the sort of thing he was going to be able to figure out. Especially now when he's tired and hungry. "I'm starving. You guys want to get some food?"

Harold's stomach growled loudly in response. "Definitely, I'm so hungry I could eat a Ponyta."

"How about you Lindsay?" But when Cody turned to the blonde he discovered that she had fallen asleep. She was now lying back in the chair snoring quietly. "…I guess that's a no."

Just then a Chansey walked over and gently placed a blanket over Lindsay, covering everything but her head and feet. "Chansey!" It then walked off.

Reassured that Lindsay would be alright if they left her there, the two boys headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. It soon became apparent that there were more trainers in Pewter City than in Viridian as they both stood in line to get food. They waited a good five minutes before they could get any food. The Chansey in charge was serving pasta and both boys filled their plates before going to find a table.

Sitting down at an empty table they both began to eat quietly. When Cody was halfway through his meal and his stomach was no longer bothering him he stuck his head up and looked around. He got a good look at all the other Pokémon trainers hanging around to eat and talk. Many of whom had some of their smaller Pokémon out eating with them.

It was then that Cody spotted someone leaving the line to get food and heading for a table. He could only see their back but was sure he knew them. "H-Hey!" he stood up suddenly and swallowed the food in his mouth. Harold watched curiously as Cody hurried away from the table and over to a boy walking the other way.

"Hey Noah!" Cody put his hand on the boy's right shoulder. "Noah it's me, it's…"

But the words died on Cody's tongue as the boy turned around. It then became apparent this was not Noah. Despite a similar skin color and similar hair style from the back there were many differences. First off, this boy was a bit taller than Noah and had a smaller head. And while he had a similar outfit, it was different. He wore a beige shirt with the collar up underneath a light blue shirt along with grey jeans, a belt and sneakers.

"Excuse me?" the boy said looking surprised. "Did you just call me Noah?"

"Oh…no, err-" Cody found himself tongue-tied and embarrassed. "Sorry, I thought you were someone I knew."

"Well I'm Dave, not Noah." the boy said apparently wanting to be perfectly clear.

"Sorry I just-

"Whatever." Dave interrupted him. "I'm a little busy okay? I have to go give my friend her food." It was then that Cody realized Dave was holding two trays of food.

"Yeah, okay."

Dave walked off without another word. Feeling embarrassed, Cody hurried back to his table where Harold was still eating. "You know that guy?" he asked in-between bites.

Cody quickly shook his head. "No, he just looked familiar. I had a friend back in Pallet Town named Noah and I thought that was him."

"Where is he?"

"I'm not sure. He left Pallet the same day I did. He might still be here; unless he's already gotten the badge for this city's gym."

"Maybe he's stuck back in Viridian Forest." Harold suggested.

Cody laughed at this. "Maybe…"

They finished the rest of their meal in silence. When they had finished Cody took some food back to Lindsay and gently woke her up. She ravenously ate all the food Cody brought up and probably could've eaten more. As the blonde went to look for dessert Cody checked back in with Nurse Joy.

"That Pikachu you brought in was in bad condition," she explained to him, "but I believe it'll pull through. Check back in the morning and I hope to have better news."

"Thank you Nurse Joy." Cody headed back to Harold and Lindsay and told them what the nurse had just told him. Night had fallen and though it wasn't that late they all decided to go to sleep early. They were all quite tired, including Lindsay, and quickly fell asleep in the sleeping quarters of the Pokémon center.

* * *

The next morning the three woke up rested and relaxed. After a light breakfast Harold and Cody went to see Nurse Joy. "I have good news boys," she told them before either teen could question her. "Your Pikachu's surgery went well and its back on its feet. Though I would recommend you avoid bringing it into battle for a day or two just to be safe." she then placed the pokeball down on the counter for Cody to pick up.

She turned around to grab something and when she turned back Nurse Joy was carrying a tray full of pokeballs. "And of course your other Pokémon are all rested up and ready to go."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Cody said as he and Harold took their Pokémon off the tray.

"No problem. If any of your Pokémon get injured again, feel free to come back. I'm always happy to help." she said cheerfully.

The boys thanked her again before moving away from the counter. Cody looked hesitant. "So does this make Pikachu my Pokémon now?"

"Well yeah," Harold said, "you did capture it after all. That means it's yours."

"I know, I just…" he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I hadn't been thinking about that when you told me to capture it."

Harold then did something that surprised Cody, he smiled, and then placed his hand on the other teen's shoulder. "That's why I know you're going to be a good trainer. You just started and you already care about your Pokémon.

Cody blushed and stared awkwardly at the floor. "Thanks. I was thinking it would be a good idea to let Pikachu out; to get to know it, you know?"

"Sounds good, but let's do it outside." Harold suggested.

"Good idea. Let's go get Lindsay."

They found the blonde sitting on one of the many couches in the Pokémon center. What surprised them was that she was not alone. Lindsay was sitting next to a shorter girl, talking and even laughing. The two boys approached with caution. "Hey Lindsay," Cody greeted her.

"Oh hey guys!" she said having only just realized they were there. The blonde then turned to her companion. "These are my new friends, Cody and Henry."

Harold adjusted his glasses. "My name is Harold, not Henry, gosh!"

"Oh, sorry Harry. No need to get upset." Lindsay told him.

Cody took a better look at Lindsay's companion. She was short, shorter than him in fact and a little pudgy. Her brown hair was up in a ponytail on the left side of her head. She had glasses, braces, and freckles. Her outfit consisted of a green t-shirt underneath a lighter green vest covered in patches along with pink pants and white shoes.

"My name's Beth," the girl held out her hand for Cody to shake. He could tell that her braces gave her a slight lisp. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you Beth." Cody shook her head. Harold then did the same.

"Belle is a Pokémon photographer!" Lindsay exclaimed. She seemed to have just been bursting to say this.

"Really?" Harold looked vaguely interested. "Ever photographed any rare Pokémon?"

Beth looked down at her feet. "Well, not really. Not yet anyway. I'm still new to it so I've been sticking to safer Pokémon."

"And she agreed to photograph my Jigglypuff!" Lindsay said beaming.

"Now?"

"Well…yeah." she shrugged. "Why? What are you going to do?"

"We're going to go introduce ourselves to my new Pikachu, and maybe look around town." Cody shrugged. "You sure you don't want to come?"

"Thanks, but I'd rather stay here with Belle." Lindsay explained.

"See you later then."

Cody and Harold left the two girls to their fun and walked out of the Pokémon Center. They made their way to a nearby park Harold knew about and found an empty bench to sit on. From there they could see a few joggers running through with their Pokémon.

"Pikachu, come on out!" Cody tossed the pokeball up. After it opened it returned to his hand empty. The Pikachu he had found in the forest popped out and looked around hesitantly. "Pika?"

"Hey Pikachu!" Cody held his hand up in greeting and smiled. "My name's Cody, you don't remember me but I found you in the Viridian Forest yesterday. You were injured but I brought you to the Pokémon Center. Do you feel better?"

"Pika." the yellow Pokémon said plainly. It looked at Cody curiously as if trying to assess him. It made no attempt to move or do anything besides sit there. Cody felt rather stumped and wasn't sure what to do next.

"Well anyway, I ended up capturing you so it looks like we'll be traveling together from now on." At this point Cody moved off the bench and kneeled down to get closer. The second he did the Pikachu recoiled in fright and fled behind a nearby tree. Cody worried he had done something wrong.

"It's probably afraid of humans." Harold spoke up. "If it was hurt by Team Rocket like that Dawn girl said then it would make sense. Idiots!" he cursed at Team Rocket.

Cody frowned. He then gently held out his hand toward the Pikachu edging it to come back, but it only retreated to a different tree. "This isn't working." he sighed. "Let me try something else." the Pokémon trainer then pulled out a different pokeball.

"Go Bulbasaur!" Cody's starter Pokémon came out looking refreshed and happy. "Bulbasaur do you think you could talk to Pikachu for me? It's too afraid to talk to me."

Bulbasaur nodded slightly before making its way to the tree Pikachu hid behind. The electric Pokémon seemed wary of the grass Pokémon's approach, but did not flee. Once it reached the tree Bulbasaur began to speak with Pikachu in their own language. Pikachu listened and even spoke back.

Cody and Harold waited patiently until the two Pokémon were finished. Bulbasaur came back to Cody and nudged him. When he looked back at Pikachu Cody could see it looked less nervous, however it did not come back with Bulbasaur. "Thanks for trying Bulbasaur." The brunette recalled it back to its pokeball. He then did the same with Pikachu.

"What do you think?" he asked Harold.

"I can't speak Pokémon, gosh!" Harold shrugged. "But…it's probably fine. Give Pikachu some time and it'll come around."

The two then left the park and decided to get some lunch. They found a small café where they bought a few sandwiches and ate them inside. Once they were full they left and wandered back through the city. "I want to check out the gym," Cody said. "Do you mind?" Harold shook his head. As they walked a thought nagged at the Pokémon trainer's mind. "Harold are you trying to collect badges too?"

"Nah," the redhead answered quickly. "I'm not interested in badges. I'm more interested in capturing rare bug Pokémon. Gyms are a real hassle."

"Then are you sure you want to hang around with me? Because I'm planning on challenging all the gyms in Kanto."

"You make a good point." Harold says as if this is the first time it occurred to him. "Now that I know your Pikachu is okay I could just restock my supplies and head back to the forest."

"Well…I didn't mean it like that." Cody looked embarrassed. "I wouldn't mind if you hung around for a while. You seem nice enough and while I like Lindsay, it's nice to talk to someone with a bit more in the smarts department." he chuckled. "If you know what I mean."

Harold grinned. "I think I know what you mean. So does this make us…friends?"

Cody hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "Yeah, we're friends."

Harold smiled. "Nice!" he then let out a small cough. "That is, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you for a while. At least until you get that badge."

"Sounds good."

Right as their conversation ended they arrived at the Pewter Gym. Unlike the Viridian Gym, this gym was much easier to find. The ground outside the gym was completely devoid of grass or dirt. Instead it was covered in rubble and rocks which matched the grey paint that covered the gym.

"Have you ever been in?" Cody asked.

Harold shook his head. "No, but I know the gym leader is a guy called Brock. I hear he specializes in rock Pokémon. He's supposed to be pretty tough."

Cody gulped. This would be the first time he entered a gym and was quite nervous. Still, he wasn't going to turn back just yet. His hand grasped the door and pulled it open. The inside of the gym was fairly dark, with the only light coming from burning torches that hung from the ceiling. Despite the dark, both boys could tell the gym was huge. On first look it seemed as large as a cathedral and just as well maintained.

Cody had heard that each gym specialized in a certain type of Pokémon, but he hadn't realized how bit a factor that would be. The entire gym was covered in rocks from ceiling to floor. The only parts not filled with rocks was a path that led to the gym leader and his battle arena.

An older man stood near the entrance to the gym beside one of two statues. He spotted Cody and Harold as they walked in. The moment they walked closer he began talking. "Hiya!" he looked right at Cody. "I can tell you have what it takes to become a Pokémon champ!"

Cody found himself slightly alarmed at this sudden greeting. "Oh well…thanks?"

"I'm no trainer, but I can tell you how to win! Let me take you to the top!"

"Well that's very…kind of you." Cody glanced at Harold in the hope of getting an explanation. Unfortunately Harold didn't know what was going on either and could only shrug. "Who are you exactly?"

"Me? Well I'm just a gym guy." the old man shrugged as if to say his own identity was irrelevant. "The real question is: who are you? You're the one here to challenge Brock after all."

"My name is Cody Anderson." the brunette stated. "But I'm not here to challenge Brock-not yet anyway. We're just here to look around."

"No problem, no problem." the man said. "You would've had to wait anyway. Brock is currently facing another challenger right now." Hearing this Cody squinted and could make out a Pokémon battle going on at the other end of the gym. "But maybe you'd be interested in taking on one of Brock's disciples!"

"His disciples?"

"Those guys and gals that train directly under Brock." the man explained. "Those who seek to learn the ways of a rock Pokémon master. If you want to get to Brock you'll have to get past his disciples first."

"How many are there?" Harold asked.

"Well there's only one left today." The man fidgeted. "The girl who's taking on Brock right now took down the other two with ease."

"And if I fight this disciple I'll still be able to come back and fight Brock later?"

"That is correct!"

Cody decided to accept. "Alright then, I'll do it!"

The gym guy smiled widely. "That's great! Just remember: rock Pokémon are extremely tough. Fire and electric attacks won't be of any use here. If you want to be smart, use a water Pokémon!"

"Thanks." Cody said as he and Harold moved past the man. They made their way down onto the dirt floor where walls of stone obscured their view. A nervous excitement filled Cody as he followed the path deeper into the gym. After turning a corner they came across a long and narrow passageway. Standing alone at the end of it was a male teen in red.

"Hey you!" the boy called out pointing at Cody. "Don't move! We're going to have a battle!" He then began to run toward them. Cody didn't move, but watched as the boy slipped after only a few steps and slid on his back all the way to them. When he finally stopped he was right in front of them.

"Oww…"

"Are you okay?" Cody and Harold helped him to his feet.

"I'm fine!" the boy said pulling himself up. He was taller than Cody wearing a red headband over his brown hair. He wore a red track suit and white sport shoes. "Don't worry that happens all the time. Thanks for the assist bros."

"Sure," Cody said, "are you one of Brock's disciples?"

"That's right," he nodded. "My name is Tyler, and I've been trained by Brock himself so don't think you'll beat me! I always bring my A-game!"

Seeing the determined look on Tyler's face, Cody knew the battle was about to begin. He pulled out his own pokeball as Tyler did the same. "Go Diglett!" The boy in red was the first to summon his Pokémon.

"Go Bulbasaur!"

The two Pokémon eyed each other. "A Diglett huh?" Cody pulled out his Pokedex. A Diglett appeared on-screen. "Diglett: the mole Pokémon. Diglett prefer dark places. It spends most of its time underground, though it may pop up in caves."

"What's that?" Tyler asked catching sight of the Pokedex.

"Something Professor Oak gave me." Cody explained. "It collects information on Pokémon and gives me an edge."

"Ha!" Tyler laughed blatantly. "You'll need more than a talking PDA to beat me!" he caught his Pokémon's eye. "Come on Dig, let's show this chump how we fight! Use scratch!"

The small brown Pokémon raced forward and scratched Bulbasaur across the front. Bulbasaur jumped back in pain. "Bulbasaur use tackle!" Cody called out. The grass Pokémon ran forward and tackled Diglett down, but it didn't appear to be very effective.

"We got this Diglett! Use sand attack!" Diglett brought up a flurry of sand which hit Bulbasaur in the face. It attempted to shake the sand out of its eyes. "Now use scratch again!"

Once again Bulbasaur took damage as Diglett scratched it. "Cody, use vine whip!" Harold called out from the sidelines. "A grass attack will be more effective!"

Cody nodded . "Bulbasaur use vine whip!"

A vine shot out from both sides of Bulbasaur and angrily whipped Diglett in the face. The attack must've been super effective as Diglett was knocked out. "Diglett is unable to battle," someone from the sidelines called out. "Bulbasaur wins! Call out your next Pokémon." Cody turned to see it was a referee in a white and black striped shirt.

A look of shock crossed Tyler's face, but he quickly recalled his Pokémon back to its pokeball. "Go Geodude!"

When the pokeball opened Cody saw what looked like a rock with a face and arms hovering there. After exchanging a look with Harold, Cody was sure this Pokémon would also be weak to a grass move. But before he could attack Tyler beat him to it.

"Geodude use defense curl!" The rock Pokémon pulled its arms inward and suddenly seemed to glisten.

"Hit it with vine whip!" Bulbasaur's green whips shot out and cut into Geodude. It was knocked onto the ground hard, but managed to get back up.

"It won't be that easy!" Tyler clenched his fists determinedly. "Geodude tackle it!"

Geodude slammed into Bulbasaur causing significant damage. Cody flinched, but didn't back down. "Just hit it with vine whip again!"

Bulbasaur's next vine whip attack was also its last. Geodude went down hard and did not get back up. "Geodude is unable to battle," the referee declared. "Bulbasaur wins! The match goes to Cody."

"Yes!" Cody cheered.

"Awesome!" Harold patted Cody on the back as Bulbasaur disappeared back into its pokeball.

Tyler's shoulders were slumped and he looked rather glum and defeated. But when he walked over to Cody and Harold the boys were worried he might be angry. It wasn't until the jock held out his hand for Cody to shake that they relaxed. "Nice job bro."

Cody reluctantly shook his hand. "Thanks."

"Your Bulbasaur seemed well trained," he let go of Cody's hand. "But I should warn you, I'm nothing compared to Brock. One grass type Pokémon won't be enough. His Pokémon are tough enough to withstand multiple attacks from water or grass and their attacks hit so hard your Pokémon won't make it past the second attack. Your Bulbasaur won't last five minutes."

Cody looked slightly taken back. "Was that supposed to be a warning or a threat?"

"Just a friendly tip," Tyler grinned, relaxing slightly. "I see plenty of new trainers go up against Brock and get sent straight to the Pokémon Center. I don't enjoy seeing Pokémon getting hurt if it can be avoided."

"Well thanks for the advice." Cody said. "If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't planning on challenging Brock yet." he turned to his red-haired friend. "Come on Harold let's go."

Tyler gave a slight wave as the two walked back the way they came. Cody thought as he walked. Defeating Tyler had filled him with confidence, but hearing his warning turned Cody's confidence to uncertainty. The idea of beating an actual gym leader in battle suddenly seemed much more real and more difficult than he had thought.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when they reached the entrance. The gym guy was still there, only now he was talking to a girl and boy. Cody's eyes widened when he realized the boy was the same person he had mistaken for Noah last night. He stopped dead in his tracks not wanting to run into him in case the boy remembered.

But Cody did take another look at the girl. She was a pretty girl around his height, with wild black hair and orange earrings. She wore a sleeveless blouse with a purple line near the bottom that matched the beaded necklace around her neck along with black pants and purple sneakers.

It was then that this girl turned her head toward him and for a moment their eyes met. She looked at him briefly before turning her head back to her companion. A moment later they both walked out of the gym. After waiting a few more seconds Cody and Harold walked over to the gym guy.

"Who was that girl?" he asked curiously.

The older man smirked. "A Pokémon trainer," he answered. "And a good one at that. She just defeated Brock in record time. Why, it's been a while since I've seen such skill in one so young…" He turned away from Cody looking thoughtful.

Harold looked at Cody curiously, but the brunette said nothing. He walked out of the gym and looked around.

But the girl was already gone.

* * *

**A/N: So I introduced a total of 4 new characters in this chapter which is a lot, I know. Of course one of them I didn't mention by name, but I'm sure you Total Drama fans figured out who she was without too much trouble. It's unlikely that I'll ever introduce that many characters in one chapter again. Anyway, reviews are appreciated. **


	6. Pewter City part 2

**A/N: Chapter 6 is here.**

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 6**

Following Cody's battle at the Pewter Gym, both boys headed back to the Pokémon Center. They were both worried about leaving Lindsay for so long and hoped Beth had kept her company. It was the middle of the afternoon by the time they got back.

They needn't have worried as they quickly spotted both Lindsay and Beth sitting at a table together laughing. "Oh hey guys," Lindsay spotted them, "where'd you go? Belle showed me all around the city but we never saw you."

"Sorry Lindsay," Cody took a seat next to the blonde. "Harold and I went over to the gym to check it out."

Beth gasped. "Did you win a badge?"

"No," Harold shook his head.

"I didn't challenge the gym leader." Cody explained. "I did beat one of his followers though."

Beth congratulated him on his small victory. Lindsay seemed to have something else on her mind. "Hey Cody, when you battle the gym leader can I watch?"

"Of course Lindsay," Cody smiled. "Actually I'd really appreciated the support. It'll be my first gym leader battle after all."

"I'll cheer you on!" Lindsay said excitedly. "Wait, what do you call those girls in skirts that cheer for people?"

"Cheerleaders?"

"Yeah! I'll like, be your cheerleader!"

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Cody thanked her and quickly changed the subject. "So what should we do now?"

The four began to discuss what they should do with the rest of their day. It was too early to just stay in the Pokémon center and none of them were tired yet. All four of them seemed to have different ideas.

"You should train for your gym battle." Harold told Cody.

"You're right," Cody admitted. "But I can't train Pikachu yet and I want to give Bulbasaur a break. Maybe I'll wait till tomorrow."

"I want to go shopping!" Lindsay told the others.

"Do you have any money?" they asked her.

"Well…no…" she pouted.

"Hey do you guys want to check out the museum?" Beth suggested. "I heard the Pewter museum has a great fossil exhibit."

"Fossils? Nice." Harold agreed. "I'm in."

"That could be fun." Cody nods.

The only person that wasn't up for it was Lindsay who made it quite clear she was unhappy with this idea. "Museums are boring!"

But despite the blonde's protest, the four soon set off. They left the Pokémon Center behind and walked across town. The museum was at the northernmost part of the town past any shops or houses. They went in and found the building fairly quiet and empty. After paying a small fee (Cody paid for Lindsay who refused to pay for something so boring) they looked around.

They spent over an hour walking around the museum and looking at all the exhibits. They had the run of the place with almost no other patrons around. They would've stayed even longer, however Lindsay's complaining had turned into full-on whining and the other three felt it was time to leave.

They headed back to the Pokémon center. It was growing dark and the wind had suddenly picked up. Fearing rain they hurried inside as quickly as they could. "Well that was fun." Cody said after taking a seat on a nearby couch.

"I got some great pictures of the fossils," Beth said as she examined her camera.

"Can we eat now?" Lindsay groaned at the same time as her stomach. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, let's eat." The teens got up and headed over to the dining area. Various other young Pokémon trainers were already eating. They had barely gotten in line before three others joined the line behind them.

After getting their food they all sat down at an empty table and began to eat. After getting out of the museum and getting some food in her stomach, Lindsay was much more agreeable. She began to chat casually with Beth over something the girls had done earlier. Every once in a while Harold would make a comment about something but didn't seem to be directing it at anyone or caring that no one responded.

No longer engaged in conversation Cody's mind thought back to earlier that day at the gym. He had put it out of his mind until now, but he wondered about that girl. She had only beaten the gym a few hours ago so the brunette thought there was a good chance she was still in Pewter City. She might even be staying at the Pokémon Center.

Raising his head a few inches he looked around at the various trainers eating dinner. There were all different kinds of boys, girls, and Pokémon which made it hard to get a clear look at the entire room. But as luck would have it, on his second scan of the room he spotted that boy Dave that he had mistaken for Noah sitting only a few tables away. Dave was talking to a girl sitting across from him. Cody could only see her back but was sure it was the girl from the gym. Her black hair was unmistakable.

Cody wasn't sure what it was about her that drew his attention. There were plenty of trainers out there and defeating the first gym wasn't anything particularly special. Sure, that guy at the gym made her out to be something special but he made everything sound exciting. For all Cody knew he talked like that about everybody. Despite telling himself this, it didn't change anything for him. Cody wanted to find out for himself.

"Be right back." Cody stood up. He left his half-eaten dinner on the plate and walked away from the table. Beth and Lindsay barely noticed his departure and quickly went back to their conversation. Harold on the other hand watched Cody for a good minute before turning back to his meal.

Cody walked straight over to the table where Dave and the girl were sitting. The table was pretty empty so he had no trouble taking a seat right next to the girl. Both the girl and Dave stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Cody suddenly felt embarrassed at what he was doing and surprised at his own audacity.

But of course at this point he could hardly back out. "Umm hey, I'm Cody." He introduced himself. His gaze was immediately drawn to the girl's. There was something mysterious about those dark eyes of hers.

"I know you," Dave frowned as he pointed his index finger at Cody. "You're that guy that bothered me yesterday. You thought I was 'Noah' or whoever."

"Yeah, sorry again about that." Cody said feeling more and more awkward. His gaze had momentarily left the girl to look at Dave, but then quickly returned to the girl. "Anyway I saw you at the gym earlier. I heard you really did a number on Brock."

The girl grinned and gave the slightest of shrugs. "Well I certainly won if that's what you mean. Brock is an excellent Pokémon trainer-

"But you beat him easy!" Dave interrupted. He seemed quite proud of this.

"Anyway…" the dark-haired girl looked down at the table before looking back at Cody. "If you were there that means you must be a Pokémon trainer going for gym badges."

"I am." Cody acknowledged.

"Oh, were you looking to challenge Brock as well? I'm sorry if you're match was postponed because of me."

"No, it's okay." he assured her. "Actually I was just checking the gym out today. I wasn't planning on challenging it until tomorrow." The words came out of his mouth before he had thought them through in his mind. He had never actually decided to challenge Brock tomorrow, but it had seemed the right thing to say at the time.

"Really? Well it's nice to meet another trainer going for gym badges. My name is Sky." She held out her hand to shake.

Cody eagerly shook it. "Nice to meet you Sky. I'm Cody."

"Yeah," she smiled, "you already said that."

"Oh right." Cody's face turned red. Sky giggled a little. Dave looked cross.

"Don't worry about it. So where do you come from Cody?"

"From Pallet town," he answered. "I left with two of my friends less than a week ago after receiving my first Pokémon."

"Less than a week? Are you sure you're ready to face Brock?" she asked.

He hadn't expected her to ask that. Once again, his mouth was answering for him. "Well…yeah. I might be a new trainer, but I know what I'm doing. My Bulbasaur has the type advantage so I should do okay."

"I like that confidence." Sky told him, "but I'm not sure you're ready. I was the best trainer in my hometown, but I still waited two weeks before I challenged Brock. You might want to wait a while. You wouldn't want your Pokémon to get seriously hurt."

"What, you're saying if I fought Brock now I'd lose? You don't even know what Pokémon I have or how strong I am!" Cody rebutted.

"Then let's find out!" Sky slammed her spoon down on the table. She had an eager look in her eyes. "How about a Pokémon battle? If you can beat me then Brock should be easy."

Cody hesitated. He hadn't come over to her table looking for a fight. He just wanted to talk to her and maybe learn her name. Part of him wanted to back out, but another part knew he couldn't do that. He had gotten himself into this situation and if he backed out now he'd be letting himself down. Not to mention Sky probably wouldn't want anything to do with him if he quit, and for some reason he didn't want that.

"Alright, I accept."

* * *

Ten minutes later Cody and Sky were outside behind the Pokémon Center. Lindsay, Beth and Harold had come to watch and were standing behind Cody while Dave stood beside Sky. Despite how dark and stormy the clouds looked it had not yet begun to rain.

The sun had set and it was growing dark. The cold breeze made Cody shiver and he suddenly wished he was back inside the warm building. Cody's friends looked anxious and kept glancing over at him. He knew they were confused as to why he was suddenly having a Pokémon battle but he hadn't had the time to explain exactly what had happened.

Glancing over at his opponent, Cody didn't think Sky looked bothered by the weather at all. She looked focused. "I beat Brock with only one Pokémon." In her outstretched hand she held out a single pokeball. "So if you can beat this one Pokémon then you win."

Cody pulled Bulbasaur's pokeball out of his pocket and enlarged it. "If you're only going to use one Pokémon then so will I."

"You don't have to do that," she said. "Feel free to use as many Pokémon as you'd like."

"Thanks, but that wouldn't really be fair. I'd prefer it just be one on one." Cody said. Sky nodded in understanding. The truth is Cody didn't really have any Pokémon worth using besides Bulbasaur. Nurse Joy warned him not to use Pikachu yet, and seeing as how it hadn't been trained at all he was sure it wouldn't be much help. His only other Pokémon was Rattata but the rat Pokémon was at such a low level it would just embarrass him in a fight against someone that beat Brock.

"Have it your way. Go Eevee!" Sky threw her pokeball into the air and out shot a furry little creature that was mostly brown in color.

Cody quickly pulled out his Pokedex. "Eevee: the evolution Pokémon. Eevee's genetic code is irregular. It may mutate if it is exposed to radiation from element stones."

Closing the Pokedex he shoved it back in his pocket. Cody had heard of Eevee and how it could evolve half a dozen ways depending on certain conditions_. I need to get me one of those_, he thought to himself. Remembering the battle, he threw his own pokeball into the air. "Go Bulbasaur!"

Once both Pokémon were out Harold stepped forward. "Alright I'll referee. I want a good clean battle. Ready…set…go!" He swung his arm down in an arc and then got out of the way.

"Go Sky!" Dave cheered from the sidelines. "Kick his butt!"

Cody started the battle. "Go Bulbasaur! Use leech seed!" Bulbasaur shot out multiple seeds out of its top. The seeds were aimed right for Eevee.

"Dodge it Eevee!"

Eevee instantly responded to Sky's command and leapt to the side right before the seeds hit it. "Now quick attack!" Eevee's speed suddenly increased exponentially. Before Cody could blink Eevee suddenly appeared behind Bulbasaur before slamming right into it. The grass Pokémon was knocked back but landed on its feet.

Cody was taken aback by the speed of the attack. The bruise forming on Bulbasaur told him it wasn't just fast, but powerful. "Hit it with vine whip!"

Bulbasaur's two vines extended out of its body and shot out toward Eevee. It was in that split second that Sky called out to her Pokémon. "Left!" Eevee leapt to the left avoiding the attack. "Right!" She called out and Eevee obeyed. They had avoided both attacks with surprising speed.

Bulbasaur was uncertain of what to do and looked to its trainer. "Don't stop! Keep attacking!" Cody ordered. Feeling slightly reassured Bulbasaur used vine whip again. Unfortunately this time was no different as Eevee again avoided the attack. Each time was the same: Eevee would avoid Bulbasaur's attack thanks to its speed and Sky's split second orders and each time Eevee would get a little closer to its target.

Finally Eevee was face to face with Bulbasaur. "Sand attack!" Sky called out. A wave of sand was suddenly kicked up in the grass Pokémon's face blinding it temporarily. "Now tackle!" Eevee happily slammed into the blinded Pokémon knocking it on its side.

Cody was shocked. He had never fought a trainer with such good control over her Pokémon. Eevee obeyed her without question and almost seemed synced to Sky somehow. If that wasn't enough the Pokémon's speed was unreal. Forget beating it, he couldn't even land a hit!

"Bulba!" The grass Pokémon cried out in pain and confusion.

Hearing his Pokémon cry out Cody regained some of his focus. His Pokémon was impaired, but maybe he could use that to his advantage. "Bulbasaur don't worry about your aim! Use your vine whip like a propeller and just focus on hitting anything you can!"

Hearing its trainer's orders Bulbasaur began to spin its vines over its head faster and faster. Unsure of what to do Eevee waited on its toes. Suddenly the vines shot out and started slamming down into the ground at different places with no real direction. They always missed but would immediately pull back and try again.

"Dodge it!" Sky told Eevee. However this was easier said than done as the chaotic attack was impossible to predict. After dodging a few times Eevee was struck hard across the face.

"Yes! Nice one Bulbasaur!" Cody exclaimed.

A look of frustration crossed Sky's face. "No more playing around. Quick attack now!"

Getting to its feet Eevee instantly obeyed. It leapt forward in a flash and hit Bulbasaur hard. The grass Pokémon was knocked back a good few feet before falling down in the dirt.

"Bulbasaur…is unable to battle." Harold said reluctantly. "Sky is the winner."

Cody rushed to his Pokémon's side. "I'm sorry Bulbasaur," he fell to his knees. "This was my fault. You take a good rest." Cody returned the Pokémon to its pokeball. He then turned around to see Sky standing over him.

"Sorry Cody, but you won't be able to beat Brock with that level of strength." She held out her hand and helped him to his feet. Standing face to face with the female trainer Cody noticed they were both about the same height.

Cody sighed. "Yeah you're probably right. Anyway good battle Sky. You beat me easy. I couldn't believe how fast you and your Eevee were out there."

Sky opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Dave cheering. "Great job Sky! You were awesome! I knew you'd win." He wrapped one arm over Sky's shoulder.

"Thanks Dave." She politely pushed his arm off. "Listen Cody, you might not have won, but you put up a good fight and I admire that. It was a nice change to have a boy want to battle me rather than just praise me."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well Dave is nice and all, but it's great to meet another serious trainer." She then noticed Dave looked offended. "Don't take it the wrong way Dave. We've known each other since we were kids and I'm glad you decided to come with me when I set off on my Pokémon journey, but you're not much of a trainer."

"Hey I have a Pokémon." Dave held up his own pokeball. "I've been in a few battles myself. It's just I want to support you. And don't say my cheering isn't helpful, because I know it is!"

Sky smiled, "Of course." She turned back to Cody. "Anyway thanks for the battle Cody and good luck with Brock. Dave and I are heading out tomorrow morning but if we ever run into each other I'll be happy to battle you again."

"Sure Sky, that sounds great. When that day comes I promise I'll be stronger." he vowed. "Good luck on your journey."

"You too, bye!"

They all headed back into the Pokémon center. After Cody explained everything to his friends they went to bed. He stayed up and gave his Pokémon to Nurse Joy to heal. Then he went to bed himself feeling both frustrated and disappointed.

* * *

Lindsay woke up the next morning feeling relaxed and refreshed. She looked around but noticed that Cody and Harold weren't around. Curious, she entered the lobby (still wearing her pink pajamas) to see if they were there. She found them both talking to Nurse Joy. They were both already dressed and ready to go.

She walked over to them. "Cody, are you going somewhere?"

The brunette looked slightly surprised to see her. "Sorry Lindsay, but I need to go train. You heard what Sky said, I can't beat Brock yet."

Lindsay frowned. "Well don't listen to that mean girl! I think your very strong Cody."

Cody's cheeks reddened and his voice came out higher than expected. "T-Thanks Lindsay, but all the same I really should. Harold's coming to help me, but we'll both be back later okay?"

"Ah okay," Lindsay said slightly disappointed. Cody started to turn away but the blonde called him back. "Cody wait!" He turned around to see her move closer and lay a quick kiss on his cheek. "Good luck okay?"

"T-Thanks," he blushed. Deciding to turn away before the smiling blonde could see him get any redder he rushed out of the Pokémon center with Harold close behind.

The two walked silently for over a block before Cody stopped feeling embarrassed. "So…" he said. "What was it you were saying earlier?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Harold adjusted his glasses. "I know of this small grass field right outside Pewter that could be great for training. It's not big, but it might be preferable to going back into Viridian Forest."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good."

The two boys made their way out of town at a brisk pace. They followed the path leading to Viridian Forest but stopped halfway between the forest and the town. It was there Harold showed Cody a small grass field he hadn't noticed before. No one else was around but the faint sounds of Pokémon could be heard.

"Wow great job Harold."

Harold smiled proudly. "Yeah well, I know a lot about this area. If there's anything else you need just let me know."

But Cody wasn't listening. He had jogged over to the tall grass and looked around. Holding his hand over his eyes like a visor, Cody scanned the surrounding area for Pokémon. "I think I see one!"

"Wait up!" Harold called out as he ran to catch up with his friend who was once again on the move. When he found Cody he was already engaged in battle. His Bulbasaur was out swiftly dispatching a wild Pidgey. He then found himself two Rattatas to defeat without breaking a sweat.

After a long drink from a water bottle he brought with him, Cody turned to his friend. "I think I should train Pikachu next."

Harold raised an eyebrow. "Pikachu? Are you sure? It won't be any good against Brock's rock Pokémon."

"I know, but if I'm going to use it I'll need to train it at some point. Better now than later." And with that Cody pulled out Pikachu's pokeball. "Pikachu come out!"

"Pika?" The electric Pokémon looked around curiously until its eyes fell upon Cody. It immediately cowered and tried to make itself look small. "See? It's still not used to you. You can't make it fight like that." Harold said.

"Let me at least try." Cody got down on one knee and pulled out some Pokémon food he brought with him. He held the food out in his outstretched hand toward Pikachu. "Are you hungry Pikachu? I've got some nice Poke-treats here that you can have."

Pikachu spotted the food in Cody's hand and looked on hungrily. It sniffed the air as it caught the food's scent. "Come on Pikachu, I promise I won't hurt you." He said calmly. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere." Cody watched as Pikachu slowly came closer; one inch at a time.

Finally Pikachu was right in front of Cody. It sniffed his hand one last time before eating some of the Pokémon food. After a few bites a look of pleasure crossed its face and it began to devour the rest of the food. "Good right?" Cody smiled.

* * *

One hour later Cody had managed to get Pikachu to feel much more relaxed around him. It no longer ran away from him when he moved closer or looked scared when he petted the electric Pokémon. It stood calmly on his knee eating the last Pokémon treat Cody had.

"I guess you proved me wrong," Harold admitted. He had watched Cody gain Pikachu's trust and was impressed. Of course Pikachu still looked frightened when the redhead approached so he made sure not to make any sudden moves. "You really have a way with Pokémon. Who taught you how to do that?"

"Nobody," Cody shrugged. "Well I guess I picked a few things up from watching Professor Oak work with Pokémon but he never actually trained me."

"You got the watch _The_ Professor Oak work? Lucky." Harold sighed. "So are you going to train Pikachu now?"

Cody turned to look at the electric Pokémon. "What do you think Pikachu? Would you be willing to train for a while?" Pikachu seemed to think it over for a minute before nodding. "Great! Let's go find a wild Pokémon."

With Pikachu running in front, the two humans headed further into the grass. It wasn't long until they ran into a small purple Pokémon Cody hadn't come across before. He quickly checked his Pokedex. "Nidoran (boy): the poison pin Pokémon. It's large ears are always kept upright. If it senses danger, it will attack with a poisonous sting."

"Cool," Cody said. "That should make a good first fight. What do you think Pikachu?" But Pikachu looked rather apprehensive. "Don't worry little guy, you can take him. I believe in you."

Somewhat reassured by its trainer, Pikachu stood ready to fight. "Alright Pikachu, start off with a growl!" The electric Pokémon let out its most fearsome growl to lower its opponent's attack.

Nidoran (boy) was affected, but didn't back down. Instead it charged Pikachu down in a tackle attack. "Dodge it Pikachu!" Cody called out. Pikachu managed to scurry away just in time. "Now use thundershock!"

"Pika-chu!" A bolt of electricity erupted out of Pikachu's body and hit Nidoran (boy). The wild Pokémon wasn't defeated, but it had been hurt. "Great job Pikachu!"

But Nidoran (boy) wasn't down yet. It tried to tackle Pikachu again and this time it succeeded. Pikachu was knocked down, but immediately got back up. It looked angry, and before Cody could even issue an attack Pikachu attacked on its own. It sent another thundershock right at its opponent knocking it unconscious.

"Wow," Cody said surprised. He hadn't expected Pikachu to attack without his order. It was unusual, but he didn't mind. It showed the little electric Pokémon definitely had some fight in it. Seeing the defeated Nidoran (boy) he pulled out an empty pokeball. "Go pokeball!"

The pokeball sucked up the purple Pokémon and began to shake rapidly. A few seconds later it went quiet. "Yes!" Cody cheered. "My fourth Pokémon." He picked up the ball and examined it for a moment before turning to Pikachu. "Great job Pikachu! You did an awesome job."

Pikachu looked pleased at the praise. "Let's keep going." Cody then fought a few more wild Pokémon using Pikachu. The electric Pokémon held up well and gained some good experience. After a while Cody noticed Pikachu was growing tired and had taken some damage so he decided to head back to the Pokémon center.

Both boys walked back and once they arrived had Nurse Joy heal Cody's Pokémon. He then informed Lindsay and Beth of his progress. Lindsay looked like she wanted to say something but Beth silenced her with a look. Cody didn't notice. After a good meal he informed Harold of his new plan.

"I want to go back to Viridian Forest," he said. "There aren't enough Pokémon in the tall grass outside Pewter. There are a lot more in the forest; plus I might run into a trainer I can battle. I don't expect you to come in with me."

"If I don't, you'll just get lost again." Harold joked. "Let me come with you. I know the forest like the back of my hand."

"Thanks Harold. I appreciate it."

Cody spent the next three days in the Viridian Forest training. Harold was with him the whole time making sure he didn't push himself too hard or get lost. Every morning the boys would leave the Pewter Pokémon Center and every evening they'd find their way back in time for dinner.

"I'm done," Cody told Lindsay on the night after his third day in the forest. "I think I'm finally ready to face Brock." The blonde was relieved as she had barely seen Cody at all the past few days.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your Pokémon." Nurse Joy told him. "Get a good night's sleep Cody. You'll need to be at your best for your battle tomorrow." Cody thanked her and decided to heed her advice. He wanted his first gym leader battle to end in victory.

_If Sky can do it, then so can I!_ He thought to himself before drifting to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: The end is a little quick, but I didn't want to drag out the training. I know some of you were looking forward to Cody VS Brock but there just wasn't time in this chapter. That's next chapter, I promise. **

**Reviews are appreciated. **


	7. Pewter Gym

**A/N: The chapter you've all been waiting for is here! Well someone has anyway. I think you'll find it quite exciting (and shocking)! **

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 7**

Cody woke the next morning feeling both excited and nervous. His very first thought when he awoke was of facing Brock in a battle. Before he had become a Pokémon trainer he had been impatient to get his own Pokémon and take on different gyms. He had imagined a gym battle as exciting and fun, but hadn't considered how nervous he'd be beforehand. His stomach was doing flips.

After getting up, he showered and got dressed. He was going to head into the dining hall to get some breakfast when he realized none of his friends weren't up yet. It was still early. So instead he decided to take a jog around town with his Pikachu. It was good exercise and by the time he got back the others were up.

Lindsay and Beth smiled at him as he walked over. "Hey guys," he greeted them.

"Hi Cody!" Lindsay waved.

"Good morning," Beth greeted him.

"How are you feeling?" Harold asked.

Cody shrugged. "Okay I guess. Just a little nervous."

Harold clapped a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Well don't be. You're going to do great."

"Yeah," Lindsay agreed, "I just know you'll win Cody!"

"Thanks guys," Cody gave a small smile. He was still nervous, but it was nice to know his friends believed in him. "Let's go eat."

Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair. No one said much so the only sounds were the clinking of silverware. "So Cody, are you heading to the gym right away?" Beth asked as they ate.

Cody nodded, but before he could speak he was interrupted. "No, he can't go yet."

Cody looked at Harold in surprise. "I can't?"

"Uh, didn't you read the sign outside the gym? It doesn't even open until noon, gosh!" Harold shook his head. Clearly he had expected Cody to know all of this.

"Oh sorry Harold. I guess I didn't think about that kind of thing." Cody admitted. "So I guess we'll have to wait until then. What should we do?"

Beth swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking. "Could you get some last minute training in?"

Cody frowned. "I don't think so. If I trained now my Pokémon would get tired and possibly injured. I'd rather let them rest until the match."

"I think you should think about something else until your match Cody," Lindsay said to the surprise of all. "It's not good for you to just sit there and stress about it. That could cause premature wrinkles." Just then an idea came to her. "Hey why don't we all get a manicure? It'll be super fun, and I know it'll take your mind off the match Cody."

"Uhh…" Cody attempted to respond to that but his mind went black. He shook his head. "Well…no thanks Lindsay. I'd rather not." Harold nodded his head in agreement.

Lindsay frowned. "Oh, okay Cody. That's fine." She sounded rather put out.

"But I think your idea to do something to take my mind off it was a good idea." Cody tried to cheer her up. "Let's just do something different okay?"

"Okay," the blonde gave a small smile.

Beth turned to her. "Hey Lindsay, what about asking Cody about that one thing? The one we discussed earlier…"

Lindsay looked at her open-mouthed for a minute before a light went off in her mind. "Oh yeah!" She turned toward the brunette. "Cody, do you think maybe you'd want to help me train Jigglypuff? Just until your match I mean."

Cody looked surprised. "You want to train your Jigglypuff, Lindsay?"

"I want to get stronger," she declared. "Or at least, I want to try."

Cody glanced briefly at Harold who shrugged. "Yeah sure," he nodded, "I'd love to help you train. Let's go."

"Yay!" Lindsay clapped her hands excitedly. Beth looked on, happy for her friend.

After finishing their meals and cleaning up the four teens left the Pokémon Center and headed back to the tall grass where Cody and Harold had previously trained. "This is good Lindsay. Go ahead and send out your Pokémon."

The blonde pulled out her lone pokeball and tossed it up high. "Come out Jigglypuff!" The ball opened up and a pink ball-shaped Pokémon with big eyes came out. "Jigglypuff!" It seemed excited to be somewhere outside the Pokémon center. "Now what?" Lindsay asked.

"First, tell me what attacks your Jigglypuff has." Cody said.

"She can…umm…" Lindsay racked her brains for the answer. "…she can…sing? Yeah, she can sing!"

"You don't even know your own Pokémon's attacks?" Harold slapped himself in the face. "That's just…just…gosh!"

"It's fine," Cody pulled out his Pokedex. "Let's see here. According to my Pokedex your Jigglypuff knows sing, pound, and defense curl. Not too bad."

"That's great!" Lindsay turned to her Pokémon. "Jigglypuff use defense curl!"

"Jigglypuff!" the pink Pokémon said excitedly before using the move to increase its defense. This was followed by an awkward moment of silence.

"Yeah…" Cody put the Pokedex away. "Let's find a wild Pokémon for you to battle. That way your attacks will actually do something."

Finding a wild Pokémon for Lindsay to battle did not prove to be a challenge. They soon came across a Nidoran (girl) alone in the tall grass. Cody guided the blonde over to where she was standing in front of the wild Pokémon with Jigglypuff in front. "Alright Lindsay," Cody said. "Anyone can learn to battle, it's not that hard. Don't worry about making mistakes just do your best. If you get stuck just remember all the times you've watched me battle and do what I did."

Lindsay nodded, "Okay." She glanced at the Nidoran with an uncertain look in her eyes before looking at Jigglypuff. "Jigglypuff…use vine whip!"

"Jiggly?" The pink Pokémon looked at its trainer confused. Beth, Cody and Harold all slapped themselves in the face upon hearing the command.

"No Lindsay, you can't use my Pokémon's moves." Cody sighed. "You have to attack using the moves that your Pokémon knows. Don't you remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Lindsay lightly taps herself on the forehead. "Duh! Wait…what were my Pokémon's moves again?"

"Sing, pound and defense curl," Beth reminded her.

"Then I should use…defense curl?"

Believing her question to be a command, Jigglypuff used defense curl to raise its defense. Just then the Nidoran attacked. The small bluish Pokémon leapt forward and tackled Jigglypuff to the ground. "Oh no!" Lindsay gasped. "Cody what do I do?"

"Tell Jigglypuff to use sing on Nidoran!"

"Right," she nodded. "Use sing Jigglypuff!"

The pink Pokémon began to use its enchanting voice against Nidoran, putting the small Pokémon to sleep. "Good," Cody said, "now that Nidoran is asleep it can't hurt your Jigglypuff. This is a smart move to use at the beginning of a battle Lindsay."

"Oh I get it." She said. "That way Jigglypuff won't get hurt!" Something occurred to her. "But now what?"

"Now you need to attack," he said. "Use pound!"

Lindsay then told Jigglypuff to attack with pound. Her Pokémon began to hit the wild Pokémon with its fists repeatedly. It took a few tries but the Nidoran eventually fainted. "Yay I did it!" the blonde jumped up and down and clapped. She then ran over to Cody and pulled him into a hug. "I did it Cody!"

"Great job Lindsay," he told her after a few seconds. "Not that I don't enjoy this hug, but you better hurry. If you want to capture that Nidoran you have to do it now!"

"Huh?" Lindsay released Cody and looked behind her. Unfortunately it was too late as the Nidoran had regained consciousness and fled further into the grass. "Oops."

"Don't be disappointed Lindsay," Beth told her friend. "We can always find another one for you to capture if you want."

"No thanks," the blonde shook her head. "I didn't really want to capture it anyway. I think that's enough training for now. Thanks for all of your help guys."

After assuring her they were happy to do it, the four teens headed back to Pewter City. "Well that killed a little bit of time." Beth said. "Now what should we do?"

"Let's just head back to the Pokémon Center." Cody said.

* * *

After a quick lunch it was time to head out. The four quickly made their way to the Pewter gym getting there only half an hour after it opened. They stood outside the gym for a minute as Cody prepared himself. "You ready?" Harold asked him.

Cody nodded. "Yeah, let's go." Taking the first step, he walked into the gym with the others behind him. It looked the same as it had the first time he'd entered. One of the first things he noticed was the older man they had met was waiting at the entrance. He spotted them immediately.

"Hey hey! Look who it is!" He waved them over. "I was wondering when you'd be back. You had me worried there for a while kid. But I'm glad to see you found your way back."

Not quite sure how to respond, Cody merely nodded. "I'm here to challenge the gym leader."

The gym guy placed his hands on his hips. "Well then it's your lucky day because it just so happens Brock is in the gym today and he's itching for a challenge. I sure hope you're prepared."

"I am." Cody stated.

"Then follow me." He turned and started to walk onto the field but stopped once the four teens began to follow him. He turned around. "Only you," he pointed at Cody, "your friends can watch from the audience."

"Sorry guys," Cody looked apologetically at his friends.

"It's okay Cody," Harold said patting him on the shoulder. "You got this."

"Good luck Cody!" Beth wished him with a braces-filled smile.

Lindsay bent down to give Cody a quick kiss on the cheek. "Go kick his butt!" She told him with a smile.

"Y-Yeah," he smiled back. As they walked off toward the stands he waved. Once they were gone he followed the older man onto the gym field. He passed by a few of Brock's apprentices that Cody was pretty sure he'd have had to battle if he wasn't with the gym guy.

"Cody! Hey!" The brunette swerved his head to the side to see Tyler standing off to the side waving at him. Cody walked over to him.

"Hey Tyler!"

"Hey bro," Tyler smiled. "You going to go take on Brock?"

"That's right," he nodded. "I'm getting the presidential treatment too for some reason."

"Well good luck man. Just remember, Brock really knows how to bring it! Don't be surprised if you don't earn a place at the table!" The jock laughed.

But Cody did not want to seem intimidated. "Oh yeah? Well I'll be sure to walk back this way after I beat Brock so you can get a good look at my badge!"

And with that he walked back toward the gym guy. He could hear Tyler yelling something back but didn't hear him. He knew what he needed to do now was focus on Brock.

After climbing a few stairs they arrived at Brock's rock battlefield. Cody had never been in a gym battle before so he found the whole thing quite impressive. Standing only a few feet away from them was Brock himself. Spotting Cody he walked over.

"I thought I sensed a new challenger," he said. Brock then held out his hand. "What's your name?"

Cody took the hand and shook it. Brock had a firm grip. "I'm Cody Anderson from Pallet town."

"Pallet town huh? I think I battled two other trainers from there recently." Brock recalled. He was quite a bit taller than the boy from Pallet.

Cody knew exactly who he was talking about. "What, really? Those were two of my friends."

"Well they both knew how to put up a good fight." he said casually. "Now are you here to challenge me? Better make it official."

"Yes," Cody nodded. "I challenge you, the leader of the Pewter Gym, to a Pokémon battle."

Brock nodded. "Take your place." he motioned to the field. Cody walked over to the challenger's box which was really just a square drawn in the dirt with chalk. Brock was standing exactly opposite him, but quite a good deal away.

The gym leader had his arms crossed and looked very serious. "I'm Brock! I'm Pewter's Gym leader! I believe in rock hard defense and determination! That's why my Pokémon are all the rock-type! Do you still want to challenge me? Fine then. Show me your best!"

Without another word, Brock pulled out a pokeball and tossed it into the air where it opened up with a burst of white light. "Go Geodude!" The rock Pokémon that appeared raised its arms threateningly.

Cody gulped, and then took a deep breath. "I can do this," he whispered to himself. In his right hand he held a pokeball. After looking at it for a few seconds he nodded to himself and then flung it into the air. "Go Nidoran (boy)!"

The young Pokémon trainer's small pinkish Pokémon appeared on the large battlefield. It looked around curiously before setting its sights on the Geodude. A moment later Brock called out to Cody. "As challenger, you may have the first move."

Taking a quick glance over at the stands Cody spotted his three friends cheering him on. Feeling reassured, he called out his first attack. "Nidoran use horn attack!"

Nidoran sprinted forward heading straight for Geodude. As it ran the small horn on its head started to glow white. The sharp appendage seemed to double in size as it got closer and closer to the rock Pokémon. When it was only a few feet away Nidoran leapt up and stabbed Geodude with its horn.

The rock Pokémon was pushed back and winced, but otherwise seemed fine. _Well that didn't work_, Cody thought to himself. But before he could try anything else, Brock attacked. "Geodude tackle it!"

With surprising speed Geodude rushed forward and slammed into Nidoran knocking it back. Nidoran let out a painful groan, but got back to its feet. "Cody!" Hearing his name the Pokémon trainer turned his head to the side where the stands were. "Remember what we talked about with type advantage!" Harold yelled out with his hands cupped over his mouth.

_Right,_ Cody nodded. Turning back to the battle he called out his next attack. "Nidoran use double kick!" The small Pokémon understood the order and once again rushed toward Geodude.

"Dodge it Geodude!" Brock called out.

Right as Nidoran was about to kick out Geodude rushed out of the way. "Don't stop! Try again!" Cody called out. Nidoran rushed forward and this time managed to connect. It kicked the rock Pokémon hard two times. The pained expression on its face told Cody that it was hurt. _Rock Pokémon are weak to fighting type moves!_ Cody smiled.

"Tackle it again!"

Too caught up in the effectiveness of his own attack, Cody hadn't been ready for a counterattack. Geodude slammed into Nidoran hard causing more damage. Tackle was a basic attack, but thanks to Geodude's strength it was very effective. "Use double kick again Nidoran!"

Nidoran was still very close to Geodude after its last attack and had little trouble closing the small distance and kicking out hard. After two very effective kicks Geodude went down. It hit the dirt floor and when the dust cleared the X's covering its eyes revealed its fate.

"Geodude is unable to battle." The referee called out from the sidelines. "Nidoran wins."

"Not bad," Brock admitted as he recalled Geodude to its pokeball. "I may have underestimated your little Nidoran-unlike most newbies you know how to handle it. But still, it's no match for my Onix!" And with that he tossed his second pokeball into the air unleashing a giant rock Pokémon.

Cody actually took a few steps back at the sight of such a monstrous Pokémon. It took up half the battlefield and was nearly as tall as the ceiling. Its entire body was made up of rocks with the top consisting of a mouth and eyes. "Whoa…" The brunette pulled out his Pokedex. "Onix: the rock snake Pokémon. Onix are known to burrow underground at high speeds in search of food. The tunnels they leave behind are used as homes by Diglett."

As Cody moved back to his spot he realized what Brock had said was right. Looking at Nidoran it was clear he had taken a good deal of damage and trying to make him battle against an Onix would be irresponsible. "Nidoran return!" A bright red light from Cody's pokeball shot forward and returned Nidoran to its home. "Good job buddy. Now go Bulbasaur!"

As soon as Cody's pokeball hit the ground it opened up to reveal the grass Pokémon. "Bulba!" it called out confidently.

"Smart choice," Brock remarked. "But my Onix is used to fighting against its type disadvantage and can end this fast. Onix use screech!"

Onix opened its mouth and a horrible sound came out. Cody had to cover his ears with both hands to block out the terrible scream and he wasn't even in range. Bulbasaur got the full blast lowering its defense and leaving it exposed. "Now use rock throw!"

Cody watched as Onix picked up a large boulder and prepared to hurl it at Bulbasaur. "Quick use vine whip!" he called out. Bulbasaur pulled the two long vines out of its body. The vines raced forward and hit the boulder. The large rock cracked down the middle and split into two. Cody sighed in relief before realizing the attack hadn't been fully stopped. One half of the boulder had fallen to the floor but the other half hit Bulbasaur.

"No!" Cody cried out. When the dust settled he was relieved to see Bulbasaur was still standing-just with a few injuries now. "Don't let it do that again. Vine whip!"

"Use bide!" Brock called out not a second after.

Bulbasaur's vines shot out once again and hit Onix dead on. The rock Pokémon groaned in pain, but now its body was covered in a slight yellow glow. "Oh crap!" Cody bit his lip. Brock had managed to use bide just in time. _This is bad_, he thought. _Onix won't be able to attack right away, but when it does it'll unleash a wave that does twice the damage that Bulbasaur did to it. If that hits its game over. _

In the space of only a few seconds Cody searched his mind for an answer. _Should I do as much damage as I can in the hope that I can knock Onix out before it can use bide?_ Cody shook his head. He knew that plan was far too risky. Just then an idea occurred to him. _Of course! _

"Vine whip!" he called out. Bulbasaur's attack hit Onix again making the rock Pokémon take significant damage. But Brock wasn't worried, seeing how Cody chose to attack he was actually looking confident. That is, until Cody called out his next attack. "Now use sleep powder!"

Brock's seemingly always closed eyes actually opened a little in surprise. He had been sure Cody would've tried to do as much damage as he could before bide ended. If he had Brock would've been confident Onix could've held out until the attack ended and he won. But if sleep powder worked then any damage bide had built up would be for nothing.

Cody's heart was thumping in his chest so hard he could almost hear it. Sleep powder was a risky move because there was no guarantee it would work. He watched the powder shoot out of Bulbasaur's top and cover Onix. Holding his breath he waited. A few seconds passed and then Onix closed its eyes and fell to the floor asleep. _Thank you Lindsay! _

"Yes!" Cody cheered. He knew that even if Onix woke up right now it wouldn't be able to use bide. Looking at his opponent he could tell Brock was a little frustrated. "Hurry Bulbasaur, while it's still asleep! Use leech seed and then vine whip!"

The grass Pokémon sprouted tiny seeds that latched onto Onix's body and began to suck out its energy. The rock Pokémon did not wake up. Then it used vine whip to do major damage.

"Again Bulbasaur! Use your-

But he was cut off by Brock. "Onix! Wake up!"

Hearing its master call out, Onix awoke. Cody swore inside his head. He had been hoping to knock it out before it woke up. "Onix use bind! Give it a good squeeze."

"Evade Bulbasaur!" But it was no use. Avoiding Onix's large body was nearly impossible in those circumstances. Onix wrapped its snake-like form around the grass Pokémon and began to squeeze. Cody's starter Pokémon began to groan in pain as it struggled. "Get out of there!"

"It's no use." Brock stated. "Your Pokémon won't be able to escape bind until it's over."

Cody knew he was right, but couldn't give up. If Onix kept squeezing then Bulbasaur would be done for. "Come on come on!" he racked his brain. "Bulbasaur!" He cried out. "Use poison powder!"

He had no idea if it would work, but didn't have any other options. It turned out Bulbasaur was in luck as its top was sticking out of the bind pointing up at Onix. It let out a spray of poison which hit the rock Pokémon right in the face. Poisoned and surprised it let go of Bulbasaur who fell ten feet to the floor below.

Cody barely resisted the urge to run across the field and see if his Pokémon was alright, but he knew he'd be disqualified if he did. When he saw Bulbasaur get to its feet he was relieved. "Great job Bulbasaur!"

"Urghh…" The gym leader groaned. "Lucky move, but I'm done playing around. Onix use rock throw!"

Seeing Brock's determination Cody knew he meant to finish it. Both Pokémon looked weak and one good move on either side could end the match. "One more time Bulbasaur! Use vine whip!"

At the same time that Onix threw an enormous boulder so did Bulbasaur shoot his vines out to attack. There was a large cracking noise that filled the gym at the same time as a layer of dust filled the field. Both Pokémon were hidden from view. The two young men could only wait for the dust clear and hold their breath.

A minute later the dust cleared and the first thing either of them saw was Onix lying on the floor knocked out. On the opposite side they spotted a hurt Bulbasaur standing alone. The winner had been decided.

"Geodude is unable to battle," the referee announced. "Bulbasaur is the winner. Victory goes to the challenger Cody."

"I-I won." Cody gasped. As the realization entered his brain he raised his arms up and cheered. "I WON! I freaking won!"

Loud cheers could be heard from the spectator stands where all three of Cody's friends were standing and cheering loudly as they clapped their hands. Cody looked over at them and smiled. He turned back to the field when he heard Brock return Onix to its pokeball.

The gym leader looked a little weary, but not angry or disappointed at all. He walked over to Cody and smiled. "Congratulations Cody, you won. It seems I underestimated you because that was one hell of a fight. As proof of your victory, here's the boulder badge. It's an official Pokémon league badge. Now that you have it your Pokémon can become much more powerful."

He handed a small circular grey badge to Cody who took it eagerly. Cody held it up to the light to get a better view. The sight of his first badge made him so giddy he wanted to jump for joy. "Wow…the boulder badge. Thank you Brock."

Brock shook his head. "I should be thanking you. That was a great battle Cody and you've earned that badge." he then reached into his pocket and pulled out something else. "And I want you to take this too." It was a small silver disc that Cody had never seen before. "It's a TM," Brock explained. "It's a technique that can be taught to a Pokémon, but only once! So make sure you pick which Pokémon you want to learn it carefully. That one is TM34: bide. I think you know what it does."

Cody grinned as he slipped it safely into his pocket. "Thanks again Brock."

"No problem. Now listen: there are all kinds of Pokémon trainers in this world. Your strong Cody, but if you want to get stronger you have to keep challenging gyms and winning badges. If that is the path you wish to follow you should head over to Cerulean City and challenge Misty."

"I will," Cody assured him.

Brock nodded. "Good luck."

After putting the gym badge safely away Cody made his way back to the front of the gym. The gym guy was there already and he was smiling. "Just as I thought!" he said. "You're Pokémon champ material after all!"

Cody opened his mouth to thank the man when he was interrupted by the arrival of Harold, Beth and Lindsay. The three converged on Cody all at once bombarding him with congratulations. The Pokémon trainer found himself slapped on the back by Harold, awed at by Beth, and spent a particularly long but pleasant minute smushed between Lindsay's breasts in her version of a hug.

"Okay guys, okay! Let me breath!" he said with a laugh.

"Sorry Cody," Beth said, "but we're just really happy for you."

"I knew you could do it!" Lindsay repeated for the third time. "I knew you'd kick that guy's butt!"

"Thanks guys," Cody said smiling widely. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Can I see your badge Cody?" Harold asked. This question excited the other two who also wanted to see the shiny new badge. After passing it around so all three of them could see they left the gym. What they hadn't realized was from that day on Cody's name was engraved on a statue listing all the trainers who had defeated Brock.

They headed back to the Pokémon Center. Once they were inside Cody made sure to give Nurse Joy his injured Pokémon so she could heal them right away. He also mentioned his victory over Brock. "Congratulations Cody," she smiled at him. "I know you'll be leaving soon enough so I wish you luck in your future gym battles."

After thanking her Cody returned to his friends. "We should celebrate." Harold suggested.

"Let's have a party!" Lindsay declared. Her idea was met with enthusiasm so they began to celebrate. They all brought out their Pokémon and had some fun. Harold was happy to give the play by play of Cody's battle to anyone that would listen but found more people wanted to hear it from the winner himself.

After about an hour it was dinner time and everyone was famished. They all brought a lot of food to their table and began to eat heartily. It was then that Nurse Joy came by and placed a chocolate cake down in the middle of the table. "What's that for?"

"For your victory of course," the nurse answered. "I always like to give Pokémon trainers that defeat Brock a little reward for their hard work. So dig in."

The four teens each took a slice, but insisted Cody take the first bite. The brunette took a bit of cake on his fork and put it in his mouth. His face lit up at the delicious taste. "Mhmm Chocolate! My favorite!" Hearing this the other three wasted no more time and dug into their own slices of dessert.

The cake didn't last long but the four remained at their table and continued talking. After a while all the soda Cody had drank caught up with him and he excused himself. A few minutes later he left the bathroom and headed back to the table. He was almost there when a Chansey passed in front of him carrying a trainer's pokeballs.

Cody of course waited until the Chansey had passed before walking back to his table. But it was then he heard his friends whispering to each other. Normally he wouldn't have eavesdropped, but when he heard what they were saying he couldn't help himself.

"What do you mean you haven't told him yet?" He heard Harold say angrily to Lindsay.

"Lindsay you said you were going to tell him earlier!" Beth said sounding disappointed.

"I know, I know!" Lindsay moaned. "But I just…I couldn't! It's too hard. I don't want to." She crossed her arms and looked huffy.

"But it's your decision," Beth reminded her. "You chose this. Are you changing your mind?"

"No, but…"

"You know we can't do it for you." Harold said.

"I know! I just don't want to say goodbye…"

At this point Lindsay sounded so sad Cody couldn't listen any longer. He quickly walked over to the table. "What are you guys talking about?" Lindsay, Beth and Harold looked surprised at his sudden arrival.

The three looked at each other as if each of them expected the other to answer. "Go ahead Lindsay, you have to tell him." Harold said.

The blonde looked unhappy. She looked into Cody's eyes but didn't say anything. "What's wrong Lindsay?" he finally asked.

"I…I can't go with you." she shook her head. "I can't go with you to Cerulean City Cody. I'm sorry."

"What? What do you mean?" he asked. "Why not?"

"I'm just not cut out for all of this traveling." she explained. "It's too hard. You saw what happened in Viridian Forest, I was no help at all!" Cody wanted to say something, but Lindsay continued. "A few days ago I asked Henry about the next place you'd go to after you got your badge and he said it was even more dangerous than the forest. There's even a dark cave Cody. A dark cave! I won't make it through there; I'd just slow you down!"

"Lindsay that's not true!" Cody objected. "You're stronger than you think. And even if you're not good at that kind of thing, I'll help you! We'll get through it."

"No Cody," Lindsay shook her head sadly. "It's not just that I can't do it, but I don't want to. I'm scared. I'm…I'm staying with Beth from now on. I'm so sorry…" Her eyes filled with tears before she ran off.

"Lindsay wait!" Cody called out, but the blonde was already gone.

"I'll go calm her down." Beth stood up. She ran out of the Pokémon center and followed the blonde.

"Sit down," Harold gently pushed Cody into his empty seat. "You should give her some time. Going after her now will just make it worse." The redhead pushed a glass of water over to him, but Cody ignored it. "It's not your fault. I think this is just something she's been dealing with since we left Viridian Forest."

"But why would she think she has to leave?" He asked. "Why didn't she just tell me? And where's she going to go now?"

"Don't worry about that." Harold tried to reassure him. "She's going to go with Beth for a while. Beth's going to keep looking for Pokémon to photograph but doesn't plan to go anywhere dangerous. She'll leave Pewter City of course, but there are safer ways to get around than the way you're going."

Cody turned to his friend. "But Harold, we can't just let her leave. She's my-I mean she's our friend. Isn't there anything we can do?"

"I'm sorry Cody," he shrugged in a defeated manner. "But this might just be for the best. Lindsay has a point after all." Cody glared at him. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better I've decided that I'll go with you. You won't be alone."

Cody nodded, but couldn't manage to say anything. After a few minutes Harold stood up and let Cody have some space. Not long after Cody headed up to bed. He lay in bed for a while thinking on what had happened. He would never have imagined feeling so miserable the night after winning his first gym badge. Eventually he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning at ten a.m. Cody and Harold had finished packing and waited outside the Pokémon Center. Cody found it hard to believe that he was leaving so soon and without Lindsay, but as Harold reminded him if he wanted to catch up to his friends from Pallet, time was of the essence.

Both boys were ready to leave, but hesitant to do so. A few minutes later Beth and Lindsay came outside. Beth looked fine but Lindsay's eyes were red and Cody could tell she'd been crying. This made him feel even worse about leaving.

"Lindsay, we don't have to do this." he told her. "You can come with us, we can even wait a day if you want. I don't mind, really!"

But the blonde shook her head resolutely. "I'm sorry Cody, but I've made my choice." Cody was hurt by the finality of it all. He had secretly been hoping he'd be able to change her mind.

Beth decided to start their goodbyes. "Goodbye Cody," she held out her hand. He went to shake it but before he could she pulled back. Instead she gave him a quick hug. "You were a nice guy and I'll treasure the time we spent together. Good luck on your journey."

"Thanks Beth." Cody said. "You were a good friend too and I hope you get some good pictures. Goodbye."

Beth then said goodbye to Harold and also gave him a hug. However she surprised him by giving the redhead a quick kiss on the cheek. Blushing slightly, she walked back over to Lindsay.

It was now the blonde's turn to say farewell. She walked over to Harold first. "Goodbye Henry," she gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for all the advice and stuff. You were kinda grumpy at times, but I still liked you."

"Goodbye Lindsay. I think I might actually miss some of the things you say." He admitted.

Then it was Cody's turn. "I'm sorry Cody," she started. "I hope you can understand why I can't stay and forgive me eventually."

For once it was Cody who hugged her first. "I'm not mad at you Lindsay, I'm just sad." His voice cracked slightly. "I'm going to miss you…"

"I'm going to miss you too!" The blonde's eyes began to water. "Cody, look at me." Slightly confused, Cody looked into her big blue eyes. Suddenly Lindsay leaned down and captured Cody's lips in a kiss. She had kissed him multiple times before on the cheek, but never on the lips. Cody felt a layer of warmth as her lips enveloped his and once his surprise disappeared he kissed her back. It was his first kiss and he had never felt anything quite like it. When it ended ten seconds later he was sad that it was over. He looked up into her eyes again silently asking the question of why. "Something to remember me by." she said.

"Goodbye…"

* * *

**A/N: Before anyone gets mad and decides to flame me, I promise Lindsay will be back. This is not the last Cody will see of the lovable blonde. **

**Reviews are appreciated. **


	8. Mt Moon part 1

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I had crazy bad writer's block. **

**Cody's Pokémon Adventure**

**Chapter 8**

Cody was feeling rather glum as he and Harold left Pewter City behind them. Both boys were wearing large backpacks that carried all of their possessions as they took their first steps onto Route 3. The badge Cody had won from Pewter Gym the day before was safely tucked away in a special red case Cody had bought before starting his Pokémon journey. The case had eight indents for each of the eight badges but currently only the first was filled. But that was okay for now, and the case itself was lodged somewhere deep in Cody's backpack.

The joy and elation he had felt at winning the badge had been stifled the night before when he learned his female traveling companion Lindsay would not be coming with him. She had chosen to stay behind rather than risk the dangers of the open road. Cody regretted leaving her behind; especially after what had happened when they parted.

The brunette could still feel the warmth of her lips on his. The kiss she had given him as a farewell gift had been a surprise, but a very pleasant one at that. If it hadn't sent him into a daze he'd surely have insisted on them staying together somehow. As he walked down the beaten dirt road he glanced behind him for the umpteenth time before finally voicing his concerns.

"Did I make the right choice?" he asked quietly.

Harold heard him. The redheaded boy knew no yes or no answer would relieve his friend. Instead he placed an arm around Cody's shoulder. "It'll be alright Cody. Beth will take care of her and you'll see her again." Cody nodded solemnly. "But until then, look to the future! Think of all the Pokémon we'll see!"

The thought did slightly brighten Cody's mood. "Maybe you're right." He did his best to focus on this and not on his regret.

* * *

It turned out Cody wouldn't have too much trouble focusing his mind elsewhere on their walk through route 3. Sure, it looked like a peaceful enough walk through nature, but that's only if you ignore the eight different trainers all walking around ready for a challenge. They didn't have trouble spotting Cody and Harold coming and wouldn't let them pass without a battle.

"This is so annoying. Gosh!" Harold seethed hours later as Cody defeated another trainer. "Don't these people know who we are? They never stood a chance!"

Cody laughed. "Sorry Harold, but I don't think anyone's handing out pamphlets instructing them not to challenge us. Plus, it's good experience. Just look at Nidoran (boy) and how much stronger he's gotten."

Cody's Nidoran (boy) was still out as it hadn't been recalled to its pokeball yet since the last battle. Suddenly as both boys were looking at it, the purple Pokémon started to glow a bright golden yellow. "What the…? What's happening?"

"It's evolving!" Harold answered as he covered his eyes from the glow.

Cody watched in amazement as his small Pokémon transformed in front of his eyes. He couldn't make out the details because of the golden light but he could see its outline as it grew larger. Then after about half a minute the glow suddenly exploded outward making both boys turn away. A few seconds later it was gone and they could both see normally.

Now Cody could see that his Nidoran had evolved. It was noticeably bigger now and more threatening. "So cool!" he pulled out his Pokedex and opened it. "Nidorino: the poison pin Pokémon. Nidorino is an aggressive Pokémon that is quick to attack. The horn on its head secretes a powerful venom."

The brunette leaned down to Nidorino's level and carefully patted his Pokémon on its head. "Hey Nidorino, how's it going? It's so cool that you evolved."

Harold smiled. "Hey I guess you were right Cody. If fighting all those lame trainers caused Nidoran to evolve then it must've been worth it."

"I think so," Cody stood up. "Alright Nidorino: return!" he recalled the Pokémon to its pokeball.

Harold gazed up at the sky and frowned. "Even so, it cost us a lot of time. If we had just walked straight through without getting stopped we could've made it to the entrance by nightfall. The sun will go down in an hour but we'll still be stuck out in the wild."

"I guess we'll be sleeping outside tonight." Cody mused. He didn't mind, in fact he had expected it. "Let's keep going and get as far as we can."

"Alright," Harold agreed, "but once the sun goes down we're stopping. I have no interest in fumbling around in the dark. You don't know what kind of Pokémon we might run into."

Cody silently agreed and the two were off. They followed the path for another hour before stopping. They set up camp on the grass beside the path and ate dinner with their Pokémon. The stars in the sky served as their ceiling that night as they slept out in the open.

* * *

They woke up bright and early the next morning. After packing up camp and eating a quick breakfast they got back on the path. On their brisk jog they came across a few different spots of tall grass. In them they spotted numerous Pokémon who had just recently woken up. Most of these Pokémon Cody had already encountered with the exception of Mankey: a small but angry Pokémon that began to throw berries at the boys when they approached.

Overall their path was much more peaceful. There seemed to be very few other Pokémon trainers out looking for a battle this early. Both boys only had to battle once the whole morning. It wasn't even noon yet when the teens saw the path was coming to an end. They could spot Mt. Moon from a distance, but that wasn't all they saw.

"Is that a Pokémon center?" Cody had his right hand over his eyes to block out the sun. "You didn't say anything about a Pokémon center being next to the mountain."

"I didn't know there was one," Harold replied. "I told you I've never gone this far out, gosh! Anyway this is a good thing."

"No kidding." Cody agreed. "Now we can rest our Pokémon before facing the mountain." The brunette was relieved. All of his Pokémon had taken damage thanks to all the battles from the day before and he didn't think a few potions would be enough. "I'm glad we won't have to go all the way back to Pewter City if something happened."

Both boys headed for the Pokémon Center. Cody became worried when he spotted trainers outside but relaxed when he realized they weren't looking for a battle. These trainers were just like him and Harold looking to get their Pokémon healed. Most were just mulling around waiting while a rare few were having a conversation.

The two passed them all by and walked through the doors of the Pokémon Center. Cody took a deep breath and sighed. There was something about the identical centers that was starting to make him feel at home…safe. They kept walking until they reached the front desk. Nurse Joy (who Cody noticed looked identical to all the others) was helping a boy and girl so they had to wait a few minutes.

Soon the nurse was free and they gave her their Pokémon to heal. As they walked away Cody considered their current situation. "What should we do now?" he asked.

"Let's take a break," Harold plopped down on a nearby couch. "We can't do anything until we get our Pokémon back."

Cody nodded, and was about to sit down too when his attention was drawn to the front of the building. The doors slid open and a teenage girl walked in. Cody's heart skipped a beat as recognition lit up his eyes. He knew this girl. Her small frame, dark hair and an air of confidence that made her instantly recognizable to him.

The brunette walked past Harold without another word and approached her. "Sky?" he called out her name as he came closer.

The girl stopped whatever she was doing at the sound of her name and turned to spot Cody standing only a few feet away. It took her a few seconds but she recognized him easily enough. "Cody? Is that you?" She hadn't expected to see him again-not so soon at least.

She covered the distance between the two so they were standing only a foot apart. "Yeah, it's really me." he smiled. "I beat Brock and got a Pewter Badge-just like you." He reached into his backpack and pulled out his badge case. "See for yourself."

The dark-haired girl believed him without having to check for yourself, but she politely leaned forward and looked at the badge anyway. "Hey, way to go Cody. Very nice."

"Thanks," he returned the case to his backpack. "Now I'm heading to the gym in Cerulean City with my friend Harold. We're going through the mountain later." It was at this point that Harold walked over and stood next to Cody. He nodded to Sky in greeting.

Seeing the redhead, Sky recalled Cody's other friends. "Wait, wasn't your group bigger?"

Hearing this reminded Cody of what had happened the morning of the previous day. He frowned, "Yeah, it was. They didn't come with us. I'd rather not talk about it…"

Sky picked up on his mood fairly quick and apologized for asking. Luckily what would've been an awkward moment was interrupted by the arrival of Sky's traveling companion Dave. "Hey Sky," he said rushing over from a different part of the Pokémon Center. He didn't seem to have noticed Cody or Harold. "Guess what? I got a new Pokémon!"

The female Pokémon trainer raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I didn't think you left the Pokémon Center Dave."

"Oh I didn't," he said proudly. In one hand he held a shiny gold pokeball that he was tossing up and down. "I bought it. That old man over by the counter sold me this Magikarp for only five hundred Pokedollars! Can you believe it?"

"Uhhh…no. I can't believe it." Sky answered awkwardly. "That's really…something."

"Isn't that a really bad deal?" Cody mused out loud. "Magikarp aren't exactly rare and once you learn to fish you can just find your own."

Dave turned around suddenly to face Cody. He looked both surprised and angry to see the short teen. "It's not a bad deal! It's a great deal. And when did you get here anyway?"

Sky took this as a sign to do introductions. "Look Dave, it's our friends Cody and Harold. They're going through Mt. Moon just like us. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah…really great." he muttered to himself. "Just perfect."

"There's just one thing I don't understand," Cody spoke up. "Why are you two still here? I mean you left Pewter City days before we did. I would've thought you'd have made it through the mountain by now."

"Well we got…held up." Sky answered cryptically.

"It's mostly Sky's fault," Dave said crossing his arms. "She wanted to battle every single trainer she could find on route three. Then she wasted a bunch of time searching through the tall grass for rare Pokémon."

"It wasn't just my fault." Sky replied feeling cross. "We got lost for almost a day because you didn't want to get your feet muddy!"

"It was mud Sky!" Dave raised his arms up over his head dramatically. "Dirty, unclean mud! I wasn't about to waltz into knee-high mud when we could walk around it." he paused for a moment. "Granted, I hadn't realized the detour would put us back several hours."

"Ughh," she rubbed her forehead. "Anyway we arrived here yesterday, but our trip into Mt. Moon didn't go as expected."

"I said I was sorry!"

"All of Dave's Pokémon were knocked out and we had to come back." Sky explained to Cody and Harold.

"I'm not good at fighting all those Geodudes," Dave tried to explain. "Not to mention all those Zubats! They're everywhere!"

"I've spent the day doing reconnaissance," Sky ignored Dave. "From what I've seen, the mountain is enormous with numerous tunnels crisscrossing all over along with trainers and wild Pokémon."

"That shouldn't be a problem for us," Harold spoke up. "Cody and I are pretty much the toughest trainers in here. It'll be a cinch."

His boasting gave Cody an idea. "Hey, why don't we travel together? Four trainers are better than two. Together we can take on anything we find down there."

Sky nodded, "I was just about to suggest the same thing myself. It'll be nice, I'm for it. What do you think Dave?"

"Fine," Dave sighed. "Just as long as I don't have to be the guy fighting all the wild Pokémon."

"I guess that's okay." Harold said adjusting his glasses. "You guys can come along if you want."

And with that it was agreed. The four of them would travel through Mt. Moon together. They couldn't leave yet because Cody and Harold's Pokémon were still being treated, but Sky said that worked out better because they weren't ready to leave anyway. Instead they decided to wait until sundown to enter the mountain. They used their remaining time to rest and prepare.

They ate a quick meal as the sun started to go down and once they were finished everyone headed outside. Cody looked around nervously. "Is it a good idea to go in at night? Everyone else is gone."

Sky smirked. "That's part of our advantage. Since everyone else waits till morning to go in they'll be less competition. All the other trainers think it's too dark at night but the truth is the sun doesn't go past the entrance to the cave anyway. The inside is lit by lamps and lanterns."

Cody felt reassured and they walked the short distance to the entrance in silence. When they arrived ten minutes later the sun had just gone down and the entrance to the cave was eerily quiet. The three boys looked hesitant to enter.

Sky walked forward and had a foot in the cave when she noticed the boys hadn't moved from where they were standing. "What's this?" She placed her hands on her hips. "Are you boys afraid? It looks like the only girl in the group is the only one brave enough to go in."

After finishing her taunt, Sky entered the cave. The three males looked at each other and shrugged. A few seconds later they followed after her with Cody and Dave in front and Harold at the back. As they entered the mountain they took a good look around. There was nothing man-made inside; everything was part of the mountain. The ceiling was high enough that it wasn't too confining, but they still wouldn't want to stay any longer than necessary.

"Gosh this place is creepier than I thought." Harold said looking around.

Sky secretly agreed, but didn't want anyone to know. "Let's just get through here as quick as we can. Stay with the group and if anyone sees a trainer let the rest of us know."

They walked on but soon came across a group of Pokémon. They were Geodudes, and looked upset at being disturbed. They quickly attacked. "Let's take them down!" Cody said feeling excited at the prospect of a battle. "Go Bulbasaur!"

As Cody summoned his grass Pokémon, Harold called out his Butterfree. "Butterfree use sleep powder!" The bug Pokémon unleashed a torrent of powder over the heads of the rock Pokémon putting them to sleep. Cody quickly had Bulbasaur use vine whip.

"Don't worry Sky," Dave said stepping in front of his female companion. "I got this. Go Poliwag!" A small blue Pokémon with a black and white swirl on its stomach appeared out of Dave's pokeball. "Use bubble!" Small blue bubbles shot out of its mouth and hit some sleeping Geodudes.

Sky scoffed. "I'm perfectly capable of helping out Dave." She pulled out her own pokeball. "Go Nidorina!" A scaly blue Pokémon with large ears came out of her pokeball. "Double kick!"

As Nidorina attacked the Geodudes, Cody caught sight of it. It looked similar to his Nidorino, and he realized it was the female equivalent. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Despite having half a dozen Geodudes to deal with the fight ended fairly quickly. All the rock Pokémon were knocked out and the four trainer's Pokémon were unharmed. "That was no sweat," Sky stated as she returned her Nidorina to its pokeball.

"Wait a sec!" Cody fumbled as he searched his bag for something. Finally he found it and pulled out an empty pokeball. "Go pokeball!" He tossed the ball at the closest Geodude. It was sucked inside and the ball started to rattle back and forth energetically. Ten seconds later it stopped moving and the capture was complete.

"Yes!" Cody cheered before going to retrieve the ball. "New rock Pokémon for me!"

"You wanted one of those?" Dave asked.

Cody shrugged. "Couldn't hurt. It might be useful in future battles."

"Aww man!" Harold groaned dramatically. "I should've done that! I could use a new Pokémon." Just then he spotted a Zubat flying off down a path to the left. "Cody use your Pokedex on that Zubat!"

The shorter teen nodded and pulled out the red device. He aimed it at the Zubat right before it flew out of range. "Zubat: the bat Pokémon. Even though it has no eyes, it can sense obstacles using ultrasonic waves it emits from its mouth."

"Awesome," Harold smiled. "I want to capture one of those."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Dave said with obvious displeasure in his voice. "This place is full of them."

And true to Dave's word, the group didn't have to go much farther to encounter another Zubat. Harold sent out his Beedrill to battle it. The wild Zubat didn't know any moves besides leech life and supersonic. Harold's Beedrill quickly dispatched it and then the bug trainer caught it with an empty pokeball.

"Yes! Awesome." The redhead admired his newest capture.

This brought a question to Cody's mind. "I thought you only caught bug Pokémon. Why the change?"

Harold looked over at his friend. "Well I can't just capture nothing but bug Pokémon." he sighed. "I mean, yes, bug Pokémon are clearly the best type. But even so, there aren't that many of them. If I want to keep up my mad skills I'll have to capture more than just one type."

Cody nodded his head in understanding. "I can respect that."

"Did you hear that?"

"They're over here! Come on!"

The four teenagers suddenly turned to the path in front of them. They could hear what sounded like two grown men approaching. All of them looked at each other unsure about what to do. They tensed up as the voices grew louder.

A minute later two adult men around twenty five or so appeared wearing identical outfits. They wore a black outfit with a big R on the chest along with grey boots, gloves, and a black cap. Neither of them looked friendly and both were chuckling to themselves. "Well look what we found." One of them said to the other. "A couple of brats and their Pokémon. Now what would they be doing all the way down here past their bedtimes?"

"I don't know," the other answered. "But they really should head home. This is no place for little kiddies."

"W-Who are you?" Cody asked nervously.

When they ignored him, Sky spoke up. "What do you want?"

"Your Pokémon of course." The one on the left said before he and his companion pulled out their pokeballs. "If you give them to us right now we'll even let you walk out of here. That is, once we've roughed you up a bit." He laughed.

Recognition lit up in Cody's eyes. "I know who you guys are! You're Team Rocket!"

Sky was surprised to hear this. "These guys are Team Rocket?"

"That's right." One of the Team Rocket members answered. "Now hand over your Pokémon! NOW!"

"I don't think so!" Sky replied curtly.

"Not on your life!" Harold drew a pokeball.

"Yeah! What they said!" Dave nodded.

"Go Pikachu!" Cody called out his electric Pokémon. "Pika!"

"Fine. This way's more fun!" The second man said darkly. "Go Rattata! Use bite!"

The purple rat Pokémon erupted out of the pokeball and bit into Pikachu. The electric Pokémon groaned in pain. "Pikachu use thundershock!"

"Pika-chu!" It cried out before unleashing a wave of electricity. Rattata's body lit up with the yellow energy before falling to the ground unconscious.

"You kids are going to regret that!" The Rocket grunt yelled. "See how well you do against my Raticate!" This rat was much bigger than its pre-evolution. It growled fiercely at Pikachu.

"My turn!" The other grunt called out. "Go Sandshrew! Go Spearow!" he tossed out two pokeballs at once.

"Go Eevee!" Sky tossed her own pokeball. When the small brown Pokémon appeared she ordered it to attack the Raticate. It fought alongside Pikachu along the rat Pokémon.

Next Harold called his Beedrill out. "Beedrill use fury attack!" The bug Pokémon rapidly attacked Sandshrew with its stingers. At the same time Dave's Poliwag fought against the Spearow.

Sky and Cody quickly dispatched the Raticate. Once it was unconscious Sky helped Harold take down Sandshrew while Cody hit Spearow with another thundershock. The battle soon ended and the Rocket Grunts had lost. Harold's Beedrill had fainted and the other three Pokémon had also taken damage, but they had won.

"What the…?" The Rocket Grunt slammed his fist into a nearby wall. "That's impossible! How did we lose?"

"Beaten by a bunch of kids? What are we going to tell the boss?" The second one asked himself.

"We're not gonna tell the boss nothing," the first grunt said pulling out a third pokeball. "They're not getting away that easy. Go Voltorb!" He tossed the pokeball and out came a Pokémon none of the teens had ever seen before. It looked like a giant pokeball. It was completely round and red on top, white on the bottom. It also had large eyes that glared at them.

"What the heck is that thing?" Harold asked confused.

"I've never seen that Pokémon before." Cody admitted. "If it is a Pokémon…"

"Looks like the fight isn't over yet," Sky gritted her teeth. She prepared to have Eevee fight again.

"It is over!" the man yelled. "I'm finishing you all off with one blow. Voltorb use self-destruct!"

"Self-destruct?" Dave repeated. "That can't be good!"

Voltorb started to glow yellow and the ground beneath it began to shake. Electricity shot out around it at irregular intervals and it glowed brighter and brighter. "Get down!" Sky called out as she knocked Cody and Dave to the ground.

A moment later the Voltorb exploded in a wave of energy. The explosion hit the ceiling of the cave and it started to collapse. Rock fell down in large clumps and for a minute no one could see thanks to the wave of dirt that filled the air. Silence filled the cave for a minute while no one dared to move.

"Hello?"

"Is anyone there?"

"I can't see!"

Soon the dust settled and Cody got to his feet. He was covered in dirt and his shoulder was sore from hitting the ground, but he was otherwise unhurt. "Guys? Where are you?"

"Over here!" Sky limped over. She was also covered from head to toe in dirt.

"Are you hurt?" Cody asked seeing her limp.

"I'm fine. My leg is just bruised." She reassured him. "Have you seen Dave?"

"Over here," a voice called out. Dave walked over to them with one hand on his head.

Sky moved closer. "Dave are you alright?"

"I…hit my head." He moved his hand and they could see a large bruise on his forehead.

"It doesn't look too bad." Sky said after looking it over.

"Those Team Rocket guys are gone." Cody finished looking around. "But I can't find Harold! We have to look for him!" The three began to frantically search the area for their friend. The north passage was blocked off by rock but the rest of the cave seemed fine.

"Ughh…"

Hearing the groan all three teens rushed toward its source. They found Harold lying on the ground on his back. A large rock was lying on top of his right leg. "We have to get it off!" Cody told the others. Together they pushed it off of Harold. When they did the redhead cried out in pain.

"Eww!" Dave took a step back at the sight of Harold's injured leg. It had clearly been broken and he was now bleeding.

"Harold you're hurt!"

"My leg…" Harold groaned. "It hurts…"

"Don't move," Sky warned him before turning to Cody. "He can't walk. We have to carry him back to the Pokémon center."

"Can Nurse Joy help him? I thought she only helped Pokémon." Cody said frantically.

"We don't have a choice! We're nowhere near the exit to Cerulean City. If we tried to wait Harold could lose his leg!"

"Okay," Cody nodded. "I'll take his legs you two get his arms. Hold on Harold, we're going to get you help!" Harold's only answer was another cry of anguish.

* * *

It was nearly one in the morning when they three managed to carry Harold out of the cave. They nearly collapsed, but instead put him down gently. Cody ran to the Pokémon Center and returned a few minutes later with Nurse Joy, two Chanseys, and a stretcher.

"Is he going to be okay?" Cody asked as all five of them entered the Pokémon Center.

Nurse Joy shook her head. "I don't know. His leg doesn't look good."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sky asked.

"Preferably something that doesn't involve touching his blood." Dave mentioned.

"No, you can't help. I need you all to stay out here while I work." Nurse Joy sounded quite serious and none of the teens argued with her. They all took a seat as she rushed Harold into the emergency room. They were the only ones there. All the other trainers had gone to bed already.

They waited over an hour for word on Harold's condition. Dave and Sky fell asleep in their chairs, but Cody remained awake. He couldn't bear to fall asleep without knowing that his friend was alright. Eventually Nurse Joy did come out, but not with good news.

"Your friend's injury is far too severe for me to treat here." She explained. "This center isn't designed for human injuries beyond a first aid kit. I've made a call to Cerulean Hospital to have your friend transferred there. A helicopter is on its way now."

"Can I come with him?" Cody asked her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you can." The pink-haired nurse looked apologetic. "The helicopter won't have much room and they'll probably try to stabilize him onboard. I can't imagine they'd let you come."

Cody sighed. He couldn't believe this had happened. Everything had been going so well and now it was all falling apart. He felt so helpless as he waited with the others. Thirty minutes later the helicopter showed up. Nurse Joy pushed Harold out on a stretcher with the other teens close by. Three men ran off the helicopter and took the stretcher from Nurse Joy.

"Wait!" Cody cried out as they loaded Harold onto the helicopter. "Don't we get to say goodbye?"

"I'm sorry, but your friend is unconscious." Nurse Joy explained. "And time is of the essence."

The brunette nodded sadly as he watched his friend fly off in the helicopter. The remaining three teens and the nurse headed back inside. "You should all get some sleep," she told them. "You'll feel better in the morning."

Cody scoffed angrily as she walked off. Sky gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Harold's going to be okay Cody. They'll take him to a real hospital with doctors who know what they're doing." Cody said nothing. "We'll see him again soon. We can go back through the tunnel tomorrow. Once we make it to Cerulean City you can go see Harold. How does that sound?"

"Yeah, you're right." Cody nodded. "Thanks Sky. It's just…"

"What is it?"

"Team Rocket." Cody spat out the name like a curse. "This is all their fault. If we run into any more of them in the cave…"

"…?" Sky looked at him concerned.

"I'm going to make them pay."

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are appreciated. **


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